


Symphogear X2

by EpicLinkSam



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twins, Attempted Suicide, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, Humor, Yuri, references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:54:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27379777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicLinkSam/pseuds/EpicLinkSam
Summary: The light of a Symphogear cuts through even the darkest evil, but the power of sibling love makes it go further beyond.
Relationships: Kohinata Miku/Tachibana Hibiki
Comments: 15
Kudos: 23





	1. S1: Chapter 1

"Miku? Where are you? We're already at the stadium!"

13-year old Hibiki Tachibana stood waiting in line to the the stadium that Zwei Wing were going to perform. There were hundreds of people, maybe even thousands.

_"Sorry, something came up..."_

"Eeeh?! Why? You were the one that invited us here!"

_"My aunt in Morioka got into an accident, so Dad's gonna drive us there now."_

"But we barely know these singers!" Hibiki whined.

_"I'm really sorry."_

Hibiki sighed in sadness as she hung up the phone. "I'm starting to think there's a curse on me..."

"So she couldn't make it?"

"Yeah, she's not coming, Rui."

Rui Tachibana groaned in irritation. "Making us wait for this long and then not showing up? I'm gonna kick her ass the next time we see her..."

"Ahh! Oneesan, don't do that!"

"I keep telling you not to call me oneesan. We're twins."

"But you were born a few seconds before I was! Those are very important seconds!"

"Jeez..." Rui said, turning away to hide a smile.

* * *

Backstage in the stadium, preparations for the concert were well underway. Though sitting against a shipping container was a blue haired girl wearing a huge white hooded coat. She had a nervous expression on her face.

"It's hard to fill in the time, isn't it?" Came a voice. "Just before the show starts is the hardest."

Another girl in a white coat came over, sitting on a crate nearby. She had long red messy hair.

"I'm dying to go wild on stage, but no, he won't let me." She complained, scratching the back of her head.

"I see..."

The red haired girl look down. "Ne ne, Tsubasa. Don't tell me you're nervous."

"Why wouldn't I be, Kanade?" She said. "Ms. Sakurai said today's especially-"

_Flick._

Tsubasa looked up in shock as she felt a flick to her forehead. Kanade grinned and laughed.

"Why are you so serious?"

"You know the full reason why, Kanade." Said a voice quite similar to Tsubasa's.

Walking over was a giant man in a red suit, as well as a girl that looked just like Tsubasa, except she had shorter hair and a pair of headphones around her neck.

"C-Commander!" Tsubasa said.

"Well, if it isn't old man Genjuro!" Kanade said.

"Oy, don't forget me!" Tsubasa's double said.

"I could never forget you, Maia." Kanade said with a grin.

"Kanade, Tsubasa." Genjuro started. "I trust you understand that today is-"

"Of paramount importance, yeah. We know. No sweat." Kanade interrupted, waving a hand in dismissal.

Tsubasa also nodded, though she looked nervous.

"Come on, Tsubasa!" Maia said, putting her in a headlock. "You heard Kanade, lighten up!"

"Gck! Let me go!" She said, flailing.

"If you won't listen to Kanade, maybe you'll listen to your precious oneesama!" She said with a grin.

"You're older by eight seconds!" Tsubasa shot at her, trying to escape the grip.

"Hey, I learned a _lot_ in those eight seconds!" Maia said with a grin.

Kanade and Genjuro just watched as the twins were flailing around.

"I always say, it's really weird knowing that Tsubasa and Maia are twins." Kanade said. "They're so different."

"Indeed." Genjuro said. "But those two have been close ever since they were little. I daresay Tsubasa's bond with Maia is stronger than her bond with you."

"Nah, I know blood ties are stronger than anything." Kanade said. "Though it seems pretty nice, having a sibling."

"Anyways, Kanade." Genjuro said, turning to her.

"I said it already, we got this." She said, flashing him a grin and a thumbs-up.

"I'll hold you to your word then." Genjuro said with a smile. "Since the show tonight will decide the future of mankind."

"Maia, stooop!"

"Call me "oneesama" first!"

Genjuro's phone started buzzing, and he picked it up.

_"Cheerio! Sakurai Ryoko speaking! We're done with the preparation."_

"Got it. We'll be there soon." He hung up. "Maia, let's go."

"Okay~!" She said, letting go of Tsubasa. "Break a leg out there, you two!"

"Heh, leave the stage to us!" Kanade said.

Genjuro gave an approving nod as he and Maia walked away. Tsubasa regained her bearings before sitting back down.

"I keep telling you this, Basa." Kanade said. "You got a great sister."

"I know. Sometimes she just shows too much love." She said, though she had a small smile.

Kanade grinned. "You should smile more often, Tsubasa. You're a lot cuter that way."

Tsubasa blushed. "K-Kanade."

"Well, let's leave all the hard stuff to the Commander, Maia and Ryoko," Kanade said, stretching. "And do what we do best on stage! ...hm?"

Tsubasa was still looking unsure of herself. Kanade went behind her and gave her a hug. Tsubasa gasped at the sudden gesture of affection.

"You take things too seriously, Tsubasa." Kanade said. "A reed before the wind lives on where oaks fall."

"Kanade..."

"You're my partner, Tsubasa. None of this is fun if you look like that." She said, grasping Tsubasa's hands.

Tsubasa leaned back, enjoying Kanade's warmth. "If we don't enjoy it, how could the audience?"

"Right? You see?"

Tsubasa turned to face Kanade, a bright smile on her face. "I'm sure it'll work out as long as we're together."

Kanade gave a proud and approving nod.

"Let's go, Kanade!"

"Yeah! We're Zwei Wing, the two wings that can fly to the ends of the Earth." Kanade said, standing up.

"We can overcome anything!" Tsubasa said, taking her hand.

* * *

Hibiki and Rui had just gotten into their seats as the stage lit up. Hibiki had lit up a glowstick and started waving it as Kanade and Tsubasa dropped down onto the stage.

"Huh, impressive wire work." Rui noted, leaning back in her seat. She looked at her sister, who was cheering as the song started. Almost the entire crowd was singing along with the idols.

 _I don't understand all the hype about this._ Rui thought. _If they're singing along, it must be a song that had released already. So you could just listen to this online or something. So why go through all this?_

She got her answer as the song entered its climax and the ceiling opened up to reveal the golden sunset. The roof had transformed into a set of bright wings, creating a beautiful show.

 _Whoa... that's actually really cool!_ Rui thought, a smile making its way to her face.

"Oh, you're standing up, oneesan!" Hibiki said.

What? Rui realized that Hibiki was right. She was now on her feet, but couldn't remember getting up.

Was the song really that captivating?

"You really liked it, didn't you?" Hibiki asked with a smirk on her face, as the song ended.

"N-No, of course not!" Rui stuttered, turning away.

Hibiki just chuckled as she looked at the idols again. She had never felt such an experience in her life, and her heart was pounding. So this was what a concert was like. No wonder Miku had wanted to invite them. She only wished her friend was here with them.

Rui turned back to see Hibiki was captivated by the show. She smiled. _At least she's happy._

 _"We're not done yet!"_ Kanade shouted.

If it was possible, Hibiki's smile grew even bigger. But they would never know what Kanade meant.

_**BWOOM!** _

A huge explosion went off in the center of the stadium. People started screaming and running.

"What the hell?!" Rui looked around in confusion. "What's going on?!"

Huge glowing creatures dropped into the stadium and roared. Rui's eyes grew wide as the people started screaming in fear.

The Noise had arrived.

Rui quickly turned around and ran, trying to tune out the screams of death surrounding her, but then she stopped.

"Hibiki!" She realized.

Turning around again, she ran back through the crowds. She didn't care that it was possibly suicide. She needed to find her sister.

 _"_ _Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl~"_

Rui looked to see that Kanade had jumped off the stage and started glowing. Armor formed on her body and a huge lance was summoned. Kanade grabbed the lance and charged at the Noise.

_What the heck...? Is she... singing and fighting?_

Kanade stabbed and slashed the Noise, all the while singing a song. Rui shook off the confusion and looked around. Thankfully most of the crowd was gone now, letting her search more freely. She saw that Tsubasa was there, garbed in a similar armor to Kanade, except she had a sword instead. They were clearing out the Noise, making it easier for her to move.

"Hibiki!" Rui called, running around. "Hibiki!"

There! Hibiki was just standing in shock at the events unfolding, having not moved from her seat. Rui ran up the stairs as fast as she could, trying to get to her sibling. She kept shouting at Hibiki to run, but Hibiki was still stunned.

She only moved when the stands beneath her crumbled, sending her down into the ground.

"Hibiki!" Rui switched directions and started running down the stairs at full speed. She didn't think Hibiki was hurt too badly, but she couldn't be sure form this distance. Rui screamed as she saw the Noise start moving towards her sister.

But Kanade was there, slicing them apart. "Run!" She called to Hibiki.

Hibiki stood up, but winced as she held her leg. Kanade gasped as the Noise started to gang up on her, unleashing their full assault. Her armor began to crack.

"Kanade!" Tsubasa called.

The full power of the Noise's attacks broke parts off of Kanade's armor. The shards flew everywhere...

...and right into Hibiki's chest.

Time seemed to stop as Hibiki hit the ground. Rui's eyes were stricken with horror, and Kanade dropped her weapon.

"Don't die!" Kanade yelled, running to Hibiki and picking her up. "Open your eyes! Don't give up on life!"

"You..."

Kanade turned to see Rui.

"Hibiki..."

Rui fell to her knees as she saw her sister's blood pool on the ground. Hibiki slowly opened her eyes.

"Hibiki!" Rui yelled, rushing to her sister's side.

Kanade safely set her against the rocks and picked up her weapon. Rui could only cry as she tried her best to stop the bleeding. Hibiki turned her head to see her sister.

"R-Rui..."

"Don't talk." She said, trying to keep her voice from breaking. She took off her coat and wrapped Hibiki in it. "Save your strength."

"H-Hah... I haven't... seen you cry... in so long..."

"Idiot..."

Rui grasped Hibiki's hand in hers.

"This..."

Rui turned to look Kanade, tears flowing down her face.

"This is all your fault!" She screamed.

Kanade didn't turn around. She picked up her lance and faced the Noise.

"Hey, you're her sister, right?"

Rui was taken back by the question. Kanade didn't even sound upset or angry at the accusation. Rui felt her anger drain.

"Y-Yes."

"Take good care of her." Kanade said. "And I'm sorry that happened to her."

Kanade started to walk towards the Noise horde, stopping and raising her lance. Her armor was starting to crumble, and Rui spotted a single tear hitting the ground.

She began to sing. It was an eerie, yet beautiful song. Kanade started to glow.

"No, Kanade!" Tsubasa yelled. "Don't sing that!"

Rui was entranced by the song. Hibiki was barely holding onto consciousness, but heard Kanade's voice.

"I can hear her song..."

The song ended. There was a brief moment of silence, before a huge wave of power was unleashed from Kanade, destroying all of the Noise in the vicinity.

Everything after that was a blur. Hibiki leaned on her sister's shoulder, slowly closing her eyes. The last thing she saw was Tsubasa holding a fallen Kanade in her arms.

* * *

**2 YEARS LATER**

* * *

Lydian Private Music Academy was a prestigious school. Thousands of girls would apply, but only a select few would be accepted.

Hibiki Tachibana was now 15, and was a student with her friend Miku Kohinata. It was a nice school life, but there were a few issues.

The first was that Hibiki couldn't seem to keep out of trouble. Bringing a stray cat into the classroom on the first day of school probably wasn't a good idea.

Hibiki lay down exhausted on the floor of her dorm room. "The first day in school felt like a hundred climaxes in a row! I'm sure I'm cursed..."

"Half the curse comes from being a goofball." Miku said, as she started unpacking some boxes. "And the other half from sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Call it helping others! It's my hobby, you know!"

"You've got to draw a line somewhere." Miku said, stacking some magazines. "Normal people don't just lend their textbooks to others."

"I'll just borrow yours!" Hibiki said, laughing and moving towards the table.

"Idiot..." Miku said, with a blush.

"Whooooa!" Hibiki held up a magazine that had a promotion of Tsubasa Kazanari. "Her CD goes on sale tomorrow!"

Hibiki squealed and held the magazine close. "Tsubasa's _so_ cool!"

Miku chuckled. "You enrolled at Lydian because you heard she studied here, right? You must really admire her."

"Yeah, but I've seen no sign of her yet." Hibiki pouted. "She's famous, so I don't exactly expect her to meet with me, but..."

Hibiki looked down her shirt at the scar on her chest. Reminiscing about that day. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the door opening. There was only one person it could be, and Hibiki stood up and smiled.

"Welcome back oneesa-ehh?!"

"Yo."

Rui Tachibana kicked off her shoes, moving towards the bottom bunk. She had a nasty bruise on her cheek, and her knee was scraped.

"I'm gonna hit the hay early, if you don't mind."

"Rui, you always do this sort of thing." Miku said with a huff.

"Oneesan, what happened?!" Hibiki asked, rushing over. "You left after orientation and I didn't see you anywhere!"

"Nothing happens after orientation so I just ditched." Rui said, closing her eyes. "I was walking throughout town, checking out random spots before I found a bunch of jerks harassing a girl."

"Did you call the police?" Miku asked, as she pulled out the first aid kit.

"Hell no. I just made sure those assholes would never be able to have kids."

"Ehhhhh?!" Hibiki said, shocked.

Miku just sighed as she pulled out the ointment and started dabbing the bruise and scrape. "I was just telling Hibiki that she always puts her nose into trouble, and then her big sister comes in as a bad example."

"I'm not her big sister." Rui groaned, wincing at the stinging ointment.

"Technically you are, by a few seconds." Miku said.

"Jeez..." Rui sighed, before yawning.

"Oneesan, you really have to stop doing these things!" Hibiki said.

"Hibiki, just let me sleep." Rui said. After Miku finished applying the ointment, she turned further into the bottom bunk. "I'm seriously tired, so you and Miku better not try anything funny on the top bunk."

"Ehh? What do you mean funny?" Hibiki asked, completely clueless to what her sister meant while Miku turned red as a beet.

Rui eventually dozed off, lightly snoring. Hibiki sighed.

"Oneesan always does these dangerous things." Hibiki said. "I really wish she would stop getting herself hurt."

"This is Rui's own way of helping people." Miku said, putting away the first aid kid. "Just like you have your own way."

"I know." Hibiki said, watching her sister sleep. _But oneesan only started acting like this after the what happened at the concert those years ago... maybe if I can ask Tsubasa-san, I can find out what happened._

* * *

"The JSDF Disaster Relief Squads guided the people to safety, and damage was kept to a minimum." Miku said, reading an article on her phone. "It happened pretty close by."

"Don't bother, Miku." Rui said, rapping her fingers on the table. "You know she barely listens when she's stuffing her face."

"Ah ahnt lithening! (I am listening!)" Hibiki said through a mouthful of rice.

While she did listen to what Miku said, eating took up half of the priority. She really wanted to give Miku her full attention, but the food the academy provide was too delicious to ignore.

_"Hey, that's Kazanari Tsubasa!"_

_"She's a real celebrity. It's so hard to just talk to her."_

_"She's the nightingale of the school!"_

The chatter kept going on, and Hibiki stood up, but didn't expect she'd come face-to-face with Tsubasa.

A very awkward silence was throughout the cafeteria, as Hibiki couldn't form the words she wanted to say. Her hands were shaking, and she was sure that she would drop her food any second now.

Tsubasa merely put a hand up and pointed to her own cheek. Hibiki realized that she was pointing out the rice she had stuck to her face.

Rui stood up. "Oy. What's with that look you're giving my sister?"

Tsubasa's neutral expression didn't change, though her eyes slightly narrowed at Rui. The two kept up the small staring contest, before Tsubasa simply continued walking. Rui smirked, assuming she won.

"Tch, who does she think she is? Looking down on people like that. She pisses me off."

"Oneesan! I don't think that's what she was doing!" Hibiki said, wiping the rice off of her chin.

"Maybe I should kick her ass." Rui suggested, chuckling and cracking her knuckles.

"Oneesan!"

* * *

"Waaah, that was terrible." Hibiki said, putting her head down on her desk. "She must think I'm a weirdo now."

It was the last period of the day, and Hibiki and Miku were just passing time. Rui had ditched the lesson partway into the class.

"Does it matter?" Miku said, jotting something in her notebook. "She's right."

"Are you gonna be done with that anytime soon?" Hibiki asked.

Miku didn't give her an answer, as she realized something. "I just remembered. Tsubasa's new CD is going on sale today, right? But then again, why buy CDs in this day and age?"

"C'mon, limited edition CDs come with all kinds of bonus materials!" Hibiki said.

"So it won't sell out?"

...

Hibiki's look changed to that of panic, and she hoped that the minutes in class would pass by faster.

* * *

Rui walked out of the convenience store. In her hand was a wafer card pack for Kamen Rider Ganbarazing.

"Let's see if my luck has changed." She said, as she tore open the pack and kept her fingers pinching the edge.

"Come on come on..."

She flipped to the last card, and a huge grin broke out on her face.

"Whooooa! Kuuga Ultimate Form! The one with Agito Shining and Ryuki Survive on the card! Whoo-!"

Rui quickly recollected herself, remembering she was in a public place. She looked at the card in her hand.

 _Maybe my luck has changed around._ She thought, before carefully slipping it into a card sleeve and safely putting it in a box within her bag.

But then Rui realized something with her outburst earlier. It was too quiet. It was early in the afternoon and there was complete silence. She could hear the crunch of the wafer echo throughout the street.

_That doesn't make any sense. Unless..._

Carbon dust blew in the wind, and she noticed several piles on the ground.

She knew what this meant.

Now, the normal person would run to the nearest shelter.

But Rui? She turned on her phone to try and find Hibiki. They each had trackers on each others phones, in the case of an emergency. She found the red blip on the map that showed her location. Quickly zooming out, she found the blip that showed where Hibiki was.

And she was running in the direction _away_ from the shelter.

"Shit!" Abandoning all common sense, she started running towards Hibiki's location. "What is that idiot doing?!"

* * *

Tsubasa Kazanari ran into the base. "What's the situation?" She asked, quickly putting her bag down.

"We're focusing the signals to triangulate their location." A man with light brown hair said.

"Man, the Noise are a real pain, aren't they, Basa?" Maia said, putting on her headphones and typing up a few things on her laptop.

"I'll never understand how you take things so calmly." Tsubasa said.

Maia simply made a "rock on" hand gesture.

* * *

"Dammit, where is she?"

Rui kept on running throughout the city, looking for her sister. The red blip was constantly on the move, and Rui groaned every time it picked up the pace. She kept ducking into alleyways to hide from the Noise. Looking at her phone again, she saw that it had stopped moving on the roof of a nearby power plant.

_There are abandoned buildings nearby. Maybe if I can get to their roofs, I can jump over the gaps to get to Hibiki._

Rui kicked down a boarded up building and started running up the stairs. She wondered why that there were no Noise stopping her.

She got her answer as she saw through the broken windows.

Hibiki was with a little girl, surrounded by dozens of Noise.

"No... not again... Not again!"

Rui picked up the pace, with every flight she ran up, each window she passed, the noise drew closer and closer to her sister.

She finally made it to the top, and looked across the rooftops. It wasn't too far of a jump, but it was a nasty fall. It wouldn't matter anyways, as the Noise were already too close.

_No... no, no!_

"NO!"

She screamed the last one as the fear set in once more.

"HIBIKIIIIIIIII!"

_"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"_

The fear was replaced with confusion. A singing voice? Was that... Hibiki?

A bright orange light glew and Rui put her arm up to try and block the light. Narrowing her eyes, she saw that a pillar of light shot towards the sky. But where was it coming from?

Looking closer, she saw the source.

"H-Hibiki?" She asked in confusion.

* * *

"The signals have focused! We've located them!" A woman with dark blue hair said.

"We're detecting another powerful signal in addition to the Noise!" The light brown haired man said.

"Compare it to the records! Quick!"

A woman with glasses studied the screen. "Wait, is that... an Aufwachen waveform?"

The holographic screen had one word smack dab in the center.

 _"Gungnir datto?!"_ Genjuro shouted in shock.

Tsubasa's eyes widened, just as surprised, but for different reasons.

"Whoa..." Maia pulled off her headphones. "Well... ain't that interesting?"

* * *

Rui watched as her sister fell forward, screaming in pain. She could only watch in horror as she saw machinery of some sort rip out of her back before the shot right back in.

The smoke cleared, and Hibiki now was garbed in black and yellow armor, with a bodysuit of orange underneath. Getting up, she had a wicked smile on her face, and her eyes glowed red.

"Hibiki...?" Rui breathed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a port of my work from FanFiction.net, with several plot revisions based on feedback. There will only be a few author's notes until I finish porting.
> 
> Rui Tachibana - Hibiki's older twin. A loner that has a bit of an aggressive streak, but a good heart.  
> Maia Kazanari - Tsubasa's older twin. A rebellious prankster that's smarter than she seems.


	2. S1: Chapter 2

Rui Tachibana didn't know what was going on anymore.

One second, she thought she was going to lose her sister.

Now? She saw her transform into something straight out of a Magical Girl anime.

Seeing Hibiki jump off the building, holding onto the little girl gave her a mini-heart attack, but then she landed completely fine.

Rui cursed, but ran back down the stairs of the building. The whole time, she was hearing her sister sing. She didn't know why Hibiki would be doing so in battle, but she didn't pay mind to it.

Rushing out, she saw that Hibiki had just backhanded a Noise out of instinct and it exploded into carbon. What surprised her was that Hibiki was perfectly fine.

She suddenly heard the rev of a motorcycle and looked to see someone ploughing through the swarms of Noise.

Tsubasa Kazanari jumped right off of her motorbike, which smashed into a giant Noise and exploded. Rui was in disbelief that someone would do that to a perfectly good motorcycle, but more at the fact that Tsubasa had jumped several dozen feet into the air.

_"_ _Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"_

More singing? She saw as Tsubasa had landed in front of Hibiki, saying a few words before running at the Noise. Glowing blue, Tsubasa had transformed. Eyes bulging out of her head, Rui was in awe as Tsubasa's katana increased in size that a certain 1st Class SOLDIER would be impressed. Swinging the huge sword as if it were weightless, an energy beam shot straight out of the sword, obliterating waves of Noise. Backflipping into the air, Tsubasa may as well have used Gate of Babylon, as dozens of swords appeared and skewered the Noise.

Rui temporarily turned away from Tsubasa's battle to see Hibiki was comforting the little girl. But a huge green Noise was looming above them.

"Hibiki! Move!" Rui shouted, as she started running towards her sister.

Hibiki heard her sister's warning and looked up at the huge Noise. But she saw something else.

A _huge_ sword, the size of a wall, dropped down and impaled the Noise, which exploded into carbon. Standing on the Noise was who else, but Tsubasa.

"What... the hell..."

Hibiki and Tsubasa turned to see Rui standing there, completely confused.

"Can someone tell me..."

Hibiki quickly covered the little girl's ears.

"...what the _FUCK_ is going on?!"

* * *

The military were already on the work, cleaning up most of the destruction. Rui was just sitting down on a crate, while Hibiki stood next to her, still in the weird armor. The little girl was safe, and they were trying to find her parents.

Rui was still trying to process what was happening. She was running recent events through her head constantly, and every time she still couldn't believe it.

She was so out of it, she didn't notice that Hibiki had accepted a drink from a dark blue haired woman. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard something shatter, and that Hibiki had transformed back.

Quickly standing up, she caught her sister who was stumbling after going back to normal.

"Are you alright?"

Hibiki noticed that Rui's voice was strangely calm. "Y-Yeah. Thank you, oneesan."

She realized that Rui wasn't trying to correct her, but she didn't press on the issue. She noticed that Tsubasa was staring at her.

"Ahh! Tsubasa-san!" Hibiki got off of her sister and respectfully bowed. "Thank you! This is actually the second time you've saved me!"

Tsubasa had actually turned around and started walking away mid-sentence, but stopped and looked back. "The second time?"

Rui was looking at the little girl, who was reunited with her mother. They were signing some sort of agreement, which was probably for their own safety.

"Hey, Hibiki." Rui said, turning back to face her sister. "We should probably go home now-"

She stopped talking as she saw men in black suits and sunglasses surround them. Tsubasa standing in the middle, looking down.

"We have unfinished business with you two." She said.

"W-Why?" Hibiki asked, instinctively clinging onto the arm of her sister.

"You will accompany use to the second branch of the Disaster Relief Squad." Tsubasa said.

"Oy." Rui said, stepping away from Hibiki. "The hell is this crap-"

_**CLICK!** _

In the one second that she had stepped away from Hibiki, a set of heavy duty cuffs were put on her sister's wrists. A brown-haired man (the only one without sunglasses) was standing next to her. How did he get there so fast?

"This is deeply regrettable, but we are taking you into custody." He said, apologetically.

"Ehhhhhhh?!"

"Alright asshole." Rui put up her fists. "You got five seconds to take those off my sister before I-!"

Almost instantaneously, Rui was on the ground, arm pinned behind her back by the brown-haired man. "I'm sorry for this, but we didn't bring a spare pair of handcuffs."

"You damn bastard-"

"If you could cooperate with us, kindly?" He said, friendly smile on his face.

Rui sighed, before she eventually found herself in the back of a car with Hibiki at her side. Sighing, she looked out the window as buildings rushed by.

"Are you okay?"

Typical Hibiki, Rui thought. Always putting herself before others even if she's in a worse position.

"I think I should be asking you that." Rui said, not even turning to face her.

"But are you okay?"

Rui looked at her sister.

"Honestly I thought I'd get arrested before you would." She bluntly stated, small smirk on her face.

"Oneesan!"

* * *

They had been driving for quite some time. Rui had actually fallen asleep on Hibiki's shoulder and was snoring away. Hibiki looked out the window and noticed where they were drawing close.

"Wait, what are we doing at the school?"

Waking Rui up, the two sisters were led through the halls by the brown-haired man from earlier and Tsubasa. Hibiki looked around, as they were in a hall she had never been in before.

"This is the central wing where the teachers live, right?" Hibiki asked, unsure.

"Yeah." Rui said, putting her hands behind her head. "I snuck in here on the first day."

They kept walking until they were escorted into an elevator. After some sort of scan, a metal cover dropped over the door, and railing rose from the floor. Tsubasa grabbed onto one of the rails.

"Um, what's that?" Hibiki asked.

"Please find something to hold onto." The man instructed.

"Wait, wha?" Hibiki said, holding onto a railing.

"Really?" Rui said, grabbing on as well. "I doubt that it'll go that fast."

Rui was proven wrong as she started screaming. The elevator went down at insanely fast pace, almost as if it was dropping. She clung to the railing for dear life, screeching like a pterodactyl as Hibiki laughed apologetically.

"Sorry, oneesan never really liked stuff like roller coasters." She explained.

Rui was still screaming as the elevator slowed down, and Hibiki had to nudge her a bit to let her know that everything was fine now. After Rui had calmed down, they noticed the elevator actually had windows. Looking out, they saw they were in a huge open area, with many intricate wall paintings and designs that seemed to have come straight from an age gone past.

"This was underneath our school?" Rui said in disbelief.

"Whoa, it looks so cool!" Hibiki said, smiling.

"Smiles won't help you." Tsubasa said.

Hibiki looked at Tsubasa in confusion, while Rui narrowed her eyes at her.

"Smiles have no place where we're going." Tsubasa said, looking away from them.

* * *

Rui really had to try her best to keep a straight face as several party poppers went off.

"The second branch of the Disaster Relief Squad, the guardians of mankind, greet you!" A tall muscular man said cheerfully.

Sneaking a glance at Tsubasa, she saw that the girl had a hand on her forehead. Hibiki was still very surprised at the instant change in mood. Looking around the room, there were decorations and signs welcoming Hibiki.

"Come on, put on a smile!" A woman with glasses and a lab coat pulled Hibiki over for a selfie. "Let's take a photo to commemorate the first day of our friendship!"

"D-Don't!" Hibiki said, moving away. "How will it look in the photo album if I'm handcuffed?"

"Hold on, how do guys even know Hibiki's name?" Rui said, looking at all the welcome signs. "I don't recall seeing any of you around her."

"The second branch here is kind of a secret service thing for wartime use." The muscular man said. "Looking into your pasts was easy as pie."

"I really feel that's a huge breach of privacy." Rui said, as the woman in the lab coat came up with Hibiki's bag.

"Hey! My bag! And what do you mean, looking into our pasts?! You just went though my bag!" She yelled, almost going into panic mode.

Tsubasa sighed. "Ogawa-san, please."

The brown-haired man nodded. "Right away."

Eventually, the cuffs on Hibiki's wrists were off. "Thank you." She said, as she rubbed her sore wrists.

"No, we should apologize to you two, actually." Ogawa said.

"You can start by actually giving us your names." Rui said. "It'll help a lot."

"I was just about to do that." The muscular man said. "I'm Kazanari Genjuro, the boss here."

"And I'm Sakurai Ryoko, the brains of the operation." The woman in the lab coat said. "Nice to meet you."

"You've already met Tsubasa. Ogawa here is her personal assistant." Genjuro said, gesturing to the brown-haired man. "And these two here are the head of support. Tomosato Aoi and Fujitaka Sakuya." He said, gesturing to the woman with dark blue hair and the man with dirty blonde hair.

"Oh uh, nice to meet you too." Hibiki said, bowing.

"Yo, I see they made it!"

Hibiki and Rui looked around to find the voice and tracing it they found...

"Ehhhh? Tsubasa-san?" Hibiki said.

A Tsubasa lookalike was standing in front of them. They looked back at the Tsubasa leaning against the wall, and then back to the one in front of them.

"What's going on?" Hibiki asked in confusion. "How can there be two Tsubasas?!"

"I'm a clone." The double said, in a low serious voice. "Because Tsubasa was such a good fighter, they decided to try duplicating the perfect soldier and created me, the ultimate specimen. And now, in order to prove my superiority, I must-"

"She's my older twin sister, Maia." Tsubasa said from the wall.

"Oh." Hibiki and Rui said.

...

...

...

"Wait, HUH?!"

"Aw come on Basa, let me have my fun!" Maia said, walking over to stand at her twin's side.

Hibiki and Rui looked and noticed there were clear differences. Hibiki and Rui were borderline identical aside from the scary look people said Rui always had. Tsubasa and Maia on the other hand was a similar case, but there were visual differences as well. Maia had shorter hair and a playful expression, compared to Tsubasa's long hair and serious demeanor. Their method of dress was noticeable too. Hibiki and Rui had similar wardrobes, with Hibiki preferring brighter colors to Rui's quieter ones. On the other hand, Tsubasa dressed neatly, while Maia looked like a delinquent, complete with a set of headphones.

"Two sets of twins though, huh? What are the odds?" Maia said, putting an arm over Tsubasa's shoulder. "But anyways, I'm part of the brains department as well, but don't contribute as much as Ryoko. Still, I help out as much as I can. Back to you, old man."

"Right, to get back on topic. You two came here at our invitation because we'd like you to work with us." Genjuro said.

"You dragged us here." Rui said, irritated.

"Work with you? How?" Hibiki asked, before remembering what had happened earlier. "Ah! Please tell me... What happened to me?"

Genjuro and Ryoko briefly nodded, before Ryoko stepped forward. "Before I can answer your question, I need you both to do two things for me."

"What two things?" Hibiki asked.

"Firstly, don't tell anyone about what happened today."

"Sounds easy enough." Rui said.

"And secondly..." Ryoko pulled Hibiki close. "Could you please take off your clothes?"

Both Hibiki and Rui were in shock at that statement. Hibiki's expression changed to that of distress.

"Oy."

Rui stepped forward.

"Ryoko, was it?"

"Yes?"

"Look at me for a second."

The last thing Ryoko saw was Rui's fist coming at her full speed.

* * *

"We're back..." Hibiki said tiredly, leaning against the door frame of her dorm.

"Ah! Hibiki! Rui!" Miku said, watching the two enter. "Where were you two knocking around until now?"

Hibiki simply collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. "Sorry..."

"Hibiki, don't sleep on the floor." Rui said, poking her with her foot.

"They said on the news earlier that the Noise showed up close by again." Miku said, hands on her hips.

"Yeah, but they're gone now." Hibiki mumbled from the floor. She was soon entranced by a news report on the TV saying that Tsubasa Kazanari would be switching to a new label. Miku sighed at her best friend's lack of attention.

"You know my sister." Rui said, slipping the rare card she picked up earlier into a plastic sleeve.

* * *

Rui lay on the bottom bunk, while Hibiki and Miku were sleeping on the top bunk. Rui was playing on her Nintendo Switch (yes it was a school night, but she didn't care), but could barely focus on her game.

She kept thinking on what happened on happened today, how crazy it was that it was all real.

 _And we're not allowed to say anything about it._ She thought. _Cliche, but it makes sense why..._

"Lend me some warmth, Miku!"

"Wh-what's with you, Hibiki?"

Rui irritatingly looked up at the top bunk. She couldn't see Hibiki and Miku, but had a hunch for what was going on.

"Kohinata Miku is the sunshine that warms me up." Hibiki said. "I'm drawn to your side. It's the warmest spot I know. It's always been like that, and it always will be."

Rui sighed to herself as she heard Miku speak.

"You know, Hibiki... I..."

Judging from the sounds of Hibiki's soft snores, Rui guessed that Hibiki had fallen asleep. She was glad, or else she would have kicked the top bunk to get the two to settle down.

 _Gotta admit though..._ Rui thought. _Hibiki's lucky to have someone like Miku. I wish I had someone like that, but I always push people away..._

* * *

At Hibiki and Miku's protesting, Rui had actually attended the class. She tried paying attention, but found herself falling half asleep.

She snapped out of it as she saw people leaving the class. Seeing Hibiki's friends leave without her got her to notice that Hibiki was putting her stuff away at her desk. Standing up, she walked over to her sister, but before she could say anything, Tsubasa had walked into the classroom. The blue-haired girl wasn't even looking at them though.

"Oy. What do you want?" Rui asked Tsubasa.

"I'm supposed to escort you both to headquarters as material witnesses."

"Huh?" Hibiki said.

A few seconds later, Hibiki had the handcuffs on her wrists again.

"Ehhhhhh?! Whyyyyy?!"

Rui actually chuckled. "Wow Hibiki, you've been in handcuffs twice and I still haven't."

"Oneesan!" Hibiki whined, hitting her laughing sister with her shoulder, since both her hands were restrained.

* * *

"All right, here are the results of your medical examination from yesterday!" Ryoko said, holding up a pointer in front of a screen.

Hibiki winced as there was a pretty nasty bruise on Ryoko's face from Rui's punch earlier.

"There are some signs that the shock of the first transformation affected you, but there are no notable abnormalities." Ryoko said.

"Nothing notable?" Hibiki asked.

"You know that's not what she came her for, Ryoko." Maia said.

"Please explain that power to me!" Hibiki said.

Genjuro turned to Tsubasa and nodded. She pulled out something around her neck, holding up what appeared to be a red gemstone necklace.

"Tsubasa is the bearer of the first Relic, Ame no Habakiri." Genjuro said.

"A Relic?" Rui asked.

"Relics are powerful artifacts documented in legends from around the world." Ryoko said. "They were created by heretics in ancient times, yet are beyond our current technology."

"They're not hard to find." Maia said. "They can be found in old ruins, but most have suffered through the ages, so the ones with power left are the real rarities. Diamonds in the rough, you could say."

"Ame no Habakiri is one such relic, though it is a mere fragment of what was once a blade." Genjuro said.

"The only thing that can amplify and free the sliver of power left in the fragments are waves of a specific amplitude." Ryoko said.

"Waves of a specific amplitude..." Hibiki said, confused.

"Basically, songs." Genjuro said. "The relics are activated by songs."

"Songs?" Hibiki asked. "Oh, right! I remember the song I sang filled my entire mind!"

Genjuro and the others nodded, but Tsubasa stared off to the side.

"You break down the power into raw energy and reconstruct it as the anti-Noise armor you and Tsubasa wear - the Symphogear." Ryoko explained.

"It's still a little confusing." Hibiki admitted.

"No wait, I think I got it." Rui said. "It's basically like a karaoke armor, right?"

Everyone in the room was silent, though Maia was laughing out loud.

Hibiki and Rui stared at her in bewilderment while the others had hands on their faces. Ryoko muttered something about it not being stupid.

"That's what I've been saying this entire time!" Maia said through her laughter. "And this is what we sell to the politicians all these years!"

She eventually calmed down, bringing the serious demeanor back into the room.

"Anyways, you summed it up right." Ryoko said. "The relics are basically superpowers activated by singing."

"But the relics don't just activate as soon as someone hums a tune!" Tsubasa said.

No one said anything as they looked at Tsubasa in concern, Maia especially. Hibiki was confused, but Rui felt differently. Like she knew what was eating at Tsubasa.

Standing up, Genjuro walked over. "We call those few people who can activate the relics and sing the songs to construct Symphogear the "Attuned." That's those like Tsubasa and you."

"So? Do you think you understand the basics of the power that awakened in you now?" Ryoko asked.

"If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask." Maia added.

"Well..." Hibiki started.

"Shoot, Hibiki."

"I still don't understand what you said."

Rui face faulted onto the floor as some of the others sweatdropped.

"Not surprised, honestly." Maia said. "We did use some pretty big words."

"Fair." Ryoko said. "For now, it'll be enough to remember that I'm the scientist behind the Sakurai Theory, which describes the extraction of power from relics."

"Okay..."

"Hold up." Rui got off the floor. "Hibiki doesn't have a relic. So why-?"

"Look at the screen." Ryoko said, pressing a button.

Pulled up on screen was an x-ray. At first they didn't see anything, but looking closer, they saw something like a few shards. Almost like broken glass within the ribcage.

"Do you know what that is?" Genjuro asked.

"Oh, yeah! I got that wound two years ago." Hibiki said. "I was there at the stadium with Rui!"

Tsubasa looked over, while Maia put a hand under her chin.

"There were multiple fragments so close to your heart that it was impossible to remove them." Ryoko said. "And according to our research, they are the fragments of the third relic, Gungnir, which Kanade held."

Tsubasa's eyes became grief-stricken as Ryoko continued. "Think of it as her farewell present."

Putting a hand over her face, Tsubasa left the room. Rui swore she heard some soft sobs. Maia nodded to Genjuro, and quickly followed after her sister.

"Um..." Hibiki said, unsure.

"What's wrong?" Genjuro asked.

"Do I really have to keep this to myself?" Hibiki asked.

It wasn't Genjuro that answered, but Rui. "Hibiki, if people found out you had these superpowers, it would obviously endanger the lives of people close to us."

"Their lives? You mean..."

"Yeah. Mom and Grandma... and Miku too. They'd all be in danger if word got out."

Hibiki looked down in thought.

"Your sister is right." Genjuro said. "We're trying to protect lives, not some secret. But can you two keep it?"

"With great power comes great responsibility, and we hope you understand that." Ryoko said. "That was from an American comic Maia introduced me to. It's a good message."

"Mankind stands no chance against the Noise." Genjuro said. "A simple touch and we turn to dust and crumble. We can't hurt them either."

"Well, not yet." Ryoko chipped in. "Maia and I have been trying to make a weapon that's effective on the Noise, but the progress is slow."

"And until then, there is a single exception. The Valkyries clad in Symphogear." Genjuro continued. "On behalf of the second branch of the Japanese government's Disaster Relief Squad, I would like to ask for your cooperation. Tachibana Hibiki, will you use the power of your Symphogear in the great war against the Noise?"

"I can... help people with this power, right?" Hibiki asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Oneesan? What do you think?" Hibiki asked, turning to her sister.

"...honestly, I don't want you to do this." Rui said. "From what I'm guessing, this is dangerous as hell."

"I know that, but-"

"You want to help people. I know." Rui said. "I'm not your keeper preventing you from doing this. You've grown up."

"Oh, really? Thank you, Oneesan!" Hibiki said, smiling.

"Just promise me this, Hibiki." Rui took her sister's hand. "Stay safe, alright? I don't know what I'd tell everyone if the worst came to pass. I've almost lost you once. Don't put me through that again."

"Got it. I promise, Oneesan." Hibiki said, before turning to the others. "Okay!"

* * *

Tsubasa was in the hall by herself, leaning against the wall in thought.

"Oy. Tsubasa."

Looking up, she saw her sister standing there, hands in her pockets.

"You alright?"

Tsubasa let out a low laugh devoid of emotion. "The furthest thing from it."

Maia frowned and walked closer. "Please don't tell me you're holding a grudge against that girl."

She could tell the answer from Tsubasa's not speaking and turning away. Maia narrowed her eyes.

"Tsubasa. That girl survived the same tragedy you did, but hers was nothing short of a miracle. And just because she can use the same powers as Kanade, you're going to hate her?"

Tsubasa still didn't respond, and Maia clenched her fist. Reaching forward, she grabbed her sister's shoulder and spun her till they were face to face.

"Listen to me, Tsubasa. That girl did nothing wrong, and you're going to unfairly resent her for that?!"

Tsubasa's expression didn't change. "It's something you wouldn't understand."

"Wouldn't understand? I'm your sister, damn it, one of the few people that _will_ understand!"

Hearing the door open, she let Tsubasa go. They saw Hibiki run up, with Rui close behind. Stopping in front of them, Hibiki looked at the two with a confidant smile on her face.

"I'll fight!" She said. "I'm still new at this, but I'll do my best!"

Maia grinned as Hibiki held out her hand to Tsubasa, expecting her to shake it. Tsubasa looked down at the floor instead.

"I'd be really..."

Hibiki didn't even finish her sentence, as the lights dimmed and an alarm went off.

"What the? An alarm?" Rui asked. "Don't tell me."

Maia nodded. "Seems like it."

* * *

"Noise appearance confirmed!" Fujitaka said, tapping his screen to find more information.

"Tell the first branch to leave this to us." Genjuro said.

"Appearance located." Aoi said. "I'm putting it on the screen."

She gasped as their whereabouts were shown onscreen. "They're within 200 units of the school!"

"So close." Genjuro noted.

"I'll stop them." Tsubasa said, leaving the room at a run.

Hibiki eyes followed Tsubasa, before she started to run as well.

"Don't be reckless!" Genjuro said. "You're not ready!"

Hibiki turned back around. "I can use my power to help people, right? Only the power of Symphgear can fight the Noise, right? Then I'm going!"

She ran out of the room, right behind Tsubasa.

"She knows the danger and yet wants to help." Fujitaka noted. "She's a kind girl at heart, ins't she?"

"I wonder." Genjuro said. "Tsubasa received combat training since she was a little girl, whereas Hibiki was a completely normal girl before this. Isn't that twisted?"

"Wouldn't that make her just like us then?" Maia said.

"That's just the type of idiot my sister is." Rui said as everyone turned to look at her. "Rushing headlong to help others without thinking. She's reckless, but I couldn't imagine my sister any other way."

"Reckless younger twin, huh?" Maia said with a smirk. "I know that feeling."

Sharing a brief glance of understanding, the two shook each others hands, in unison at the agreement of the impulsiveness of their respective sibling.

* * *

Tsubasa Kazanari stood down the Noise, which merged together into one huge green monster. It roared, but Tsubasa didn't back down.

_"_ _Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"_

In a flash of light, Tsubasa had armed herself in her Symphogear armor.

As the Noise turned pink, Tsubasa continued to sing. Dodging and deflecting the Noise's attacks, she rushed forward. Her sword increased in size.

"Tsubasa-san!"

Looking up in shock, she saw Hibiki come out of nowhere kick the huge Noise. She had a smile on her face, but it irritated Tsubasa. Taking the opening, she jumped up into the air, she unleashed a huge sword beam that sliced the Noise in half. The resulting explosion blew up part of the street, and Tsubasa landed safely and observed the destruction.

"Tsubasa-san!" Hibiki said, running up. "Sorry! I know I'm probably slowing you down right now, but I'll do my best! So, please let me fight with you!"

Tsubasa didn't turn around. "You're right."

Hibiki's smile grew larger as Tsubasa turned around.

"You and I... should fight."

"Eh?"

Tsubasa held her sword up, pointing at Hibiki with it. In her eyes were years of pain and violence.

Hibiki took a step back. Just what was going on?


	3. S1: Chapter 3

Panicking was a good word to describe Hibiki Tachibana right now.

Because one of her biggest idols was threatening to hurt her. She kept trying to talk it down, but Tsubasa kept mentioning something about being worthy and using confusing terms.

But Tsubasa was only full of anger, yelling at her about taking Kanade's place. She jumped into the air, continuing her song. Throwing her sword, it enlarged in size, as she dove down with it, the huge blade on her foot.

Hibiki braced herself, but the impact never came.

In fact, the reverse happened.

Genjuro came out of nowhere and countered the giant sword, _with his fist._

The resulting shockwave destroyed nearly the entire street. Hibiki was unharmed, while Tsubasa crashed into the ground. Both of them were back in their normal outfits.

Rui and Maia had been dropped off earlier a safe distance away and walked up to see the destruction, seeing Genjuro talking to Tsubasa in the downpour of the broken water main. Hibiki was behind him.

"What the hell...?" Rui's jaw had dropped open. "Did he...?"

"That's our Uncle." Maia said with a smile. "Always like this."

"Is he even human? ... Wait, he's your Uncle?"

The two quickly reached the three, and Rui thought she saw Tsubasa crying. It could have simply been the water, but something felt off. Genjuro helped her up, as Hibiki started speaking.

"Tsubasa-san, I know I'm useless right now, but I'll do my best!" Hibiki said, running up. "I'll try to replace Kanade!"

What happened next lit a fire in Rui's chest, as Tsubasa slapped Hibiki's face, hard.

That was what finally set her off. She had held it in earlier, but now she couldn't contain it anymore. Before Maia could grab her, Rui had already started running at Tsubasa.

Tsubasa saw Rui approaching, but didn't pay much mind to it, her anger towards Hibiki taking the main priority.

So it heavily took her off-guard when Rui punched her in the face. Stumbling from the hit, Tsubasa tasted blood in her mouth.

"What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?!" Rui yelled.

She didn't stop, as she punched Tsubasa in the stomach, causing the girl to wince. It was followed up by another punch in the face that sent Tsubasa to the ground. Rui was just about to get on her knees and punch her more, but she felt a pair of hands grab her. Looking behind her, she expected Maia or Genjuro.

But no, it was Hibiki, who had tears in her eyes.

"Hibiki! Let me go!"

"Oneesan, please. Stop."

Hibiki's voice was low and sad, and Rui felt the rage drain out of her. She stopped as she let her sister hug her. The two watched as Tsubasa sat up, not even bothering to wipe the blood from her mouth since the downpour did it for her.

Maia sat down next to her sister, pulling her into a hug. She said some words that Rui couldn't catch. The two locked eyes, but Maia didn't seem angry at all, but rather understanding.

Genjuro stood off to the side, sighing as he could only imagine how many headaches these pair of twins would cause in the future.

* * *

One month had passed since then.

Rui was sitting by herself at a restaurant, on her phone and waiting. Maia had asked her if she could meet up here, and she was running late. Rui was just in thought, remembering everything that had happened recently. While Hibiki had somewhat gotten used to the idea of fighting the Noise, she and Tsubasa had never worked together during the month. Not that Hibiki wasn't trying, it was just Tsubasa refusing. Tsubasa barely acknowledged Hibiki, and completely ignored Rui.

Maia was a lot friendlier with them, being supportive of Hibiki helping. She was also on good terms with Rui, despite the fact that Rui had taken Tsubasa to chin check city earlier.

Rui didn't really do much whenever she was a the HQ, aside from giving her sister emotional support, but she still felt exhausted.

Hearing the door ring, she looked up from her phone to see Maia walking in, reading a light novel.

"Took you long enough." She said. "Was starting to wonder if you ditched me."

Maia looked away from her book to see Rui sitting in the booth, a bored expression on her face.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that." Maia said, sitting down. "It's just this new issue came out, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

The waitress walked over, to take their orders. They both ordered drinks, deciding to hold off on the food for now.

"So, what did you want to talk about, away from the others?" Rui asked.

Maia put her book away, her expression now serious.

"I want to ask you to forgive Tsubasa."

"...is that it?"

"Yes."

Rui sighed, tapping her finger on the table.

"I think you can guess my answer, Maia."

"Rui-"

"She was a complete bitch to my sister, and continues to be a complete bitch." Rui said. "Why the hell should I forgive her?"

Maia had a sad smile as the waitress came with the drinks.

"You want to know something? Tsubasa's hasn't had exactly the best life." Maia said, stirring the ice in her soda.

Rui raised an eyebrow. "I've heard celebrity life was stressful, but I doubt-"

"No, it's not that." Maia said. "Tsubasa and I may be twins, but I wasn't always there for her."

This got Rui's attention. "What do you mean?"

"When we were kids, we stuck together like glue." Maia said. "But when we got education, I exceeded the expectations of my teachers. It's kinda hilarious how I started studying in overseas Universities."

"Jesus Christ, you only hear this type of thing in movies." Rui said, with a sweatdrop.

"But as a result, Tsubasa was left alone, neglected." Maia said, sadly. "She had no one to really turn to, that could understand her pain. Our Uncle tried his best to understand, but he couldn't."

Maia looked out the window at the night sky. "But then Tsubasa met Kanade. She was like the light Tsubasa needed. Whenever I saw them together, Tsubasa was the happiest she had ever been. But... you know about that incident a few years ago."

Of course she did. How could she forget that day, where she almost lost everything?

"Tsubasa... she didn't take Kanade's death well." Maia said. "The loss was the hardest on her and she..."

Rui saw Maia visibly shake, dredging up a painful memory.

"A few days after the concert..."

* * *

_Maia was walking towards Tsubasa's room. The girl had completely shut herself in. She knocked on it._

_"Hey, Tsubasa? Can I talk to you?"_

_No answer. But she could hear the footsteps._

_"Tsubasa, I know you can hear me."_

_She heard the scraping of a chair, and that caused some concern. Without bothering to ask anymore, she slid the door open._

_The next few seconds were a complete blur. Maia had tackled Tsubasa to the ground, her heart racing in shock._

_The reason? When she opened the door, she found Tsubasa standing on a chair, with a rope hanging from the ceiling right next to her. Letting her instinct drive her, she jumped at Tsubasa and wrapped her arms around her, causing the two to fall to the ground._

_"What... were... you... thinking...?" Maia breathed, still in disbelief at what her sister had tried to do._

_Tsubasa didn't say anything. The dry tear tracks on her face said it all._

_"Tsubasa, if you did this, imagine how everyone else would feel." She said. "How_ I _would feel."_

_"But Kanade-"_

_"She was always saying don't give up on living, so why would you go against her?"_

_Hearing that caused Tsubasa to just break down into her sister's arms. Maia pulled her into a strong hug, trying to hold her own tears back._

_"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you when you needed me." Maia said, as Tsubasa's cries only grew louder and the hug grew tighter._

_The two stayed like that for hours, but Maia didn't care._

_Because her sister needed her, and that was what truly mattered._

* * *

Rui was stunned into silence at Maia's story. The ice cubes in her soda start to melt, as was the anger she had felt towards Tsubasa.

"Listen, Rui." Maia said. "I guess a full-on forgiveness isn't possible at the moment, but can you at least try to be a little nicer to her? This isn't an order or anything, just a request. Speaking as one older twin to another."

Maia started to down her soda as Rui thought.

Forgiving Tsubasa wasn't really an option she wanted to take. Not after the way she had treated Hibiki.

But, she saw how Hibiki reacted when she punched Tsubasa. She hated seeing that tearful expression on Hibiki, and didn't want to see it happen again.

And Tsubasa... it was clear that the girl wasn't all there after what had happened at the concert. She had already been through so much that putting all the blame on her wasn't right, even if that was what Tsubasa was doing to Hibiki.

Rui wasn't like her sister, being very forgiving, but... maybe she should try.

"Maia."

Maia looked up, straw in her mouth.

"I'll... try to lighten up on Tsubasa." She said.

"Really?"

"Hibiki has always told me that I resort to violence too quickly. I'm... trying to fix that."

"Heh, you think?" Maia smirked. "Tsubasa told me that your punch was more painful than any Noise she had fought."

"But yeah." Rui said. "I guess I'll try to be nicer."

Maia's smile grew wider. "Thank you, Rui. This means a lot to me."

Both of their phones went off, and they saw a notification saying there was a meeting at HQ.

"Well, we'd better go." Rui said, standing up. "I might as well start being nicer now."

"Glad to see you're so enthusiastic."

* * *

"Sorry I'm late!"

As expected, Hibiki was the last one to show up. Rui sighed, as Hibiki was almost always like this. Maia laughed at the tardiness, while Tsubasa didn't even look at her, focusing more on her drink.

"Sorry again." Hibiki said, apologizing again as she bowed.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's all be friends and talk." Ryoko said.

Ryoko pulled up a map of the area on the screen, where there were red dots all over the area.

"Any opinions?" Genjuro asked.

Hibiki looked at the map and nodded. "Lots of blips!"

Genjuro laughed at the simple response.

"You got that right." Genjuro said. "These spots are all places where Noise outbreaks have occurred over the past month. How much do you know about the Noise? Hibiki? Rui?"

"Just what they tell us on TV or in school." Hibiki said.

"Emotionless, mechanical, and only go after humans." Rui said, counting them off her fingers. "And the people they attack turn into carbon dust."

"There's no pattern to the time and place of their appearances, and they attack indiscriminately." Hibiki added. "They're widely seen as a serious threat to mankind."

"I see you two did your homework." Genjuro said.

"Yeah, literally!" Hibiki said, putting a hand on the back of her head. "I'm writing a report on it, and oneesan's been helping me."

"Well color me impressed." Ryoko said. "If you don't get an A+ on that report, I'll have a serious talk with your teacher."

"Everything you two have said is correct." Ryoko said. "The Noise were first recognized by the UN about 13 years ago, but they've been observed since long before that."

"She's right." Maia said. "There are countless records dating back to ancient times from all over the world."

"We suspect that many of the demons that appear in ancient legends and fables are in fact, based on the Noise." Genjuro said.

"Though, in actuality, Noise outbreaks are very rare." Ryoko said. "The recent string of outbreaks is extraordinary, no matter how you look at it."

"This prompts us to ask if there's some sentient will behind it." Ryoko said, hand on her chin.

"Will?" Hibiki asked. "Is someone responsible for this?"

"Lydian Private Music Academy's High School lies between all the outbreaks." Tsubasa said, speaking for the first time in the meeting. "The center is right above us. Someone or something is targeting this area for what lies in Sacristy D: Durandal."

"Uh... What is Durandal?" Hibiki asked.

"Is it a giant sword?" Rui asked. "That's either a dragon slaying sword of fire, or a holy sword that can be used with demon magic?"

While almost everyone looked confused at what Rui was talking about, Maia looked surprised.

"You play Fire Emblem and watch Highschool DxD?" She asked.

"Well, sometimes." Rui said, though she looked a bit embarrassed.

"DxD...?" Hibiki said. "Ah! That was the anime that oneesan watched, where a lot of the girls had big-mmph!"

Rui put a hand on Hibiki's mouth.

"L-Let's just move on." She said, face red. "So what's this Durandal?"

"It's an almost complete relic which we keep below us on a level called the Abyss." Aoi said. "We've been researching it under the supervision of the Japanese government. That's Durandal."

Then Fujikata began to speak. "Fragmented relics such as Tsubasa's Ame no Habakiri or the shards of Gungnir in your chest need to be amplified and materialized as Symphogear by the song of the bearer if their power is to be of any use. Our research indicates that undamaged relics, once activated, can maintain 100% of their power, and that others can wield them too, not just the singer."

"That is the Sakurai Theory I devised." Ryoko said, proudly. "But to activated a complete relic, you need a significant amount of phonic gain."

While Rui seemed to understand it mostly, Hibiki still looked confused. Genjuro stood up. "Two years have passed since then. Maybe now Tsubasa's voice will..."

Tsubasa stared at the floor, before taking another sip from her cup.

"But will the government permit us to activated it?" Aoi asked.

"There's a more basic problem." Fujikata said. "Based on our peace treaty, the USA are demanding that we hand over the treasure that is Durandal. We can't even _consider_ activating it right now."

"We must take utmost care simply handling it." Genjuro said. "Or this could turn into a diplomatic affair."

"The Americans have a hand in this as well?" Rui asked.

"According to the reports from Security," Genjuro said. "We have evidence that there have been tens of thousands of attempts to hack our systems over the last few months."

"Of course, we're not certain where these attacks are coming from, and we can't just accuse the Americans without hard evidence." Genjuro said. "But we are investigating further."

"Commander Kazanari." Ogawa said, stepping up to get his attention.

"I see. Is it already time?" Genjuro asked, clearly getting a message that needed no elaboration.

Ogawa nodded, before turning to Tsubasa. "Tonight we need to sort out the finer details of your album."

"Huh?" Hibiki said.

"To the public," Ogawa put on a pair of glasses. "I'm the manager of popular artist Kazanari Tsuabsa."

He gave Hibiki and Rui his card, and Hibiki was fangirling over it. "This is the first time I've been given a business card! I _have_ to keep it. Thank you!"

"It's just a card." Rui said, looking at it.

"But oneesan, you collect-mph!"

Rui put her hands over Hibiki's mouth as Tsubasa and Ogawa left the room.

"So, something is stirring up the Noise to attack us?" Hibiki asked, moving her sister's hand off her mouth. "I'd hate to think someone is sending them against us intentionally."

"Never fear!" Ryoko said. "After all, this place is a stronghold of mankind, designed by the genius scientist Sakurai Ryoko, who you'd normally only see on TV or in magazines. I decided to make the whole structure a mix of pagan and cutting-edge technology, making it impossible for the enemy to get close."

"Well, that puts me at ease." Hibiki said, letting out a breath of relief.

Deciding to take a break from all the information, the group sat down with some drinks. Something was bothering Hibiki though.

"Why do we... Why do we fight not only the Noise, but each other as well? Why don't we stop waging war?"

"I'm pretty sure mankind is cursed." Ryoko said, uncomfortably close to Hibiki's ear.

Hibiki cried out and stood up as she felt a gentle nip on her ear.

"Virgins are all the same, huh?" Ryoko said with a smile. "I want to pop your cherry before someone else does."

Hibiki was a blushing mess while the Maia, Fujikata and Aoi chuckled while Genjuro sighed. As for Rui...

"So Ryoko. I see the bruise on your face healed up nicely." Rui said, eyes in the shadow of her hair.

Ryoko sweat-dropped in panic, kicking herself for forgetting who was also in the room.

"How about we put one on the other cheek this time?" She said, cracking her knuckles.

* * *

Another day of school passed without anything of sort happening. Rui had gone back to the dorm, ready to just do whatever. She slipped off her shoes and threw her bag in the corner.

"Anyone here?"

Walking in, she saw Miku sitting on the bunk bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Hey Miku."

Miku didn't respond, as Rui sat down on a chair and pulled out her phone. She was just scrolling through the internet, really just wasting her time. Miku being depressed in the room didn't really help.

Hearing some small sobs, Rui groaned before putting away her phone. Standing up, she climbed the bunk bed's ladder.

"Alright, I'll bite." Rui sat down next to Miku. "What's wrong?"

"I was going to watch the shooting stars with Hibiki, but she said something came up and couldn't come."

Something came up? She didn't get a notification of anything from Genjuro or the others. Perhaps they thought there wasn't any need to call her?

"So you're just gonna sulk here?" Rui asked. "Because Hibiki couldn't go with you?"

Miku nodded.

"Alright, how about I go with you then?"

"Eh?" Miku looked up at Rui.

"I've got nothing better to do. Might as well do _something._ " Rui said. "And we could probably record the shooting stars for Hibiki."

"Really?" Miku said, looking up.

"Yeah. I know it's what she'd want." Rui said.

Miku smiled, surprising Rui with a hug. "Thank you, Rui!"

"A-Alright, that's enough of that." Rui stuttered, slightly blushing as pulled out of the hug.

"I'll go get my jacket! Then we can go!" Miku said happily said, climbing down the ladder.

Rui sighed, but smiled. She only hoped that whatever was keeping Hibiki wasn't too much of an issue. Dropping out of the top bunk, she looked out the window.

_Just stay safe, Hibiki._

"I'm ready, Rui!"

"Alright, let's go."

They left, off to see the shooting stars. But unbeknownst to both of them, Hibiki was fighting for her life.

In a park, she had met up with Tsubasa, but they came across a new foe. One in a certain stolen armor.

"Impossible..." Tsubasa's eyes grew wide. "The Nehushtan Armor?!"


	4. S1: Chapter 4

Rui was looking down at her phone as she waited for Miku to get ready. She... wasn't really having the best time. The Gacha Gods were not that merciful with her pulls.

"Why do I keep playing this? That's over 300 orbs down the drain..." She muttered, putting her phone away as Miku came out of the dorm. She was dressed quite nicely. Not too fancy, but not too casual either. No doubt she originally planned to do so for Hibiki, but instead she got the twin.

"So, what do you want to do?" Rui asked. "We got some time to kill before the meteor shower."

"Eh?"

"We've got plenty of time." Rui said. "Don't tell me that you were gonna just sit and wait with Hibiki for a few hours."

The lack of a response answered Rui's question. She sighed, before smiling.

"Okay then, if you got no ideas, wanna grab something quick?"

* * *

"Wow, I didn't know you had a place like this in mind." Miku said.

They were at an ice cream parlor. It was quite colorful and smelled nice. There was a very friendly aura about the place that made Miku feel relaxed.

"Yeah. I found it a while back." Rui said. "Pretty cheap, and the ice cream here's great too."

The two of them ordered sundaes, before sitting down in a booth. There was a bit of silence, before Rui spoke up.

"I know you feel bummed that it's me you're hanging out with, and not Hibiki."

"Rui, please don't think that. You're just as much of a friend to me as Hibiki is." Miku reassured.

"I appreciate it, but let's face it, you'd rather hang out with Hibiki than me."

Miku reached a hand across the table, putting hers on Rui's.

"Don't put yourself down, Rui." Miku said with a smile. "You're worth just as much as Hibiki is."

Rui blushed for a second, before pulling her hand away. "Y-Yeah."

Miku chuckled. _She really is just like Hibiki. Well, in that way at least._

Rui sighed as their ice cream was served. Miku took a bite and was surprised at how sweet it was.

"It's delicious! How did you find this place, Rui?" She asked.

"I found it when I ditched class a few weeks back." Rui said nonchalantly.

"Rui, that's something I've been meaning to ask a few weeks back." Miku said. "You don't come to class often, but how are you still going to the school?"

Rui pulled out her phone, before tapping the screen a few times. She slid it across the table to Miku, who picked it up.

"A photo of the class test scores?" Miku asked.

"Look closer."

Miku narrowed her eyes before they widened. Rui's name was quite close to the top of the list, nearly the top of the class.

"Wha? How-?" Miku looked up from the phone. "Rui, you're really this smart?"

"What do you mean by "really"?"

"But you ditch class all the time!" Miku said. "How do you do this?"

"Well, when I do bother show up, I actually study the material." She said. "It is draining, but I do try pushing myself."

"Why though?" Miku asked. "No one is asking you to do it."

Rui forcefully stabbed at her ice cream at those words.

"I just want to help out at home. Do my part." She answered, though there was some bitterness in her words.

Miku knew better than to try pressing things with Rui. She considered changing the subject, but what to? Rui was looking at the cafe's television, aimlessly watching the commercials. Putting a large spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, Miku had recalled that Rui was a fan of superheroes, though she would always try to hide it. But aside from that, Rui was always a hard one to read. She wasn't exactly the nicest person around, yet nor was she the meanest. It honestly baffled her at the stark contrast Rui was compared to the sun that Hibiki was.

But at the same time, there was this aura around Rui, that just made her relaxed. It was hard to explain, but while being around Hibiki could cheer you up, being around Rui felt like all the stress goes away. Ironic, considering Rui's actions usually _cause_ stress to others.

"You've been staring at me for a while now." Rui said. "What, do I have ice cream on my cheek or something?"

"Oh-ah no." Miku stammered. "...actually never-mind, you do."

"For Christ's sake..."

* * *

The two had wrapped up the quick snack, before stepping back out onto the busy street.

"The meteor shower is gonna happen soon." Miku said, checking the time. "We should get going."

"Yeah. Let's-"

"I keep telling you, I'm not interested!"

The two looked to see a young woman. She was being pestered by a man in his early twenties, who was evidently trying to ask her out to the point of harassment. She kept refusing, but the man would try grabbing at her wrist.

"How horrible..." Miku pulled out her phone. "I'll call the police-"

Rui had already walked towards the man and woman. They stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"What do you want, kid?" The man asked. "I'm kinda busy right now."

"Well, I just have one question." Rui said. "Do you want kids?"

"Huh?"

"...what?"

"I'm asking if you want kids." Rui said, same neutral expression on her face. "It's a simple question."

"Kind of out of the blue, but not really, no."

"Then you'll thank me."

"For what?"

Miku closed her eyes as she turned away. The scream the man made when Rui delivered a devastating kick to his family jewels could be heard for miles. He was on the ground in pain, as Rui looked down on it.

"There you go asshole." She said. "No kids for you. You're welcome."

Rui then turned to the young woman, who took a step back in caution, as if Rui were to attack her next. But Rui's eyes, while still harsh, grew a bit softer. "Are you alright?"

"Oh um, yes. Thank you." She said.

"Not a problem." Rui said.

The woman walked away, as Rui kicked the downed man to the side to keep the sidewalk clear. She walked back to Miku, who sighed.

"Rui, sometimes you scare me." Miku said.

"I've beat up people bigger than that loser." Rui said. "It was nothing."

"But still... what if you upset the wrong people, and got hurt? What would I tell Hibiki?"

Rui did look down at those words.

"Rui, I'm not saying that you're weak or anything." Miku said. "You're one of the strongest people I know, but-"

"I know, I know." Rui said. "It's just... the type of person I am. I always interfere when there's some pretentious asshole being a jerk. I can't help it."

"Rui..."

"We're gonna be late for the meteor shower." Rui said suddenly, turning around. "Let's go."

"Ah! Rui!" Miku called after her. "You don't even know where we're-!"

Miku sighed, but chased her to make sure Rui didn't go the wrong way.

_Rui... I only hope that you know you don't have to do things alone._

* * *

"You know, this wasn't how I expected to see you." Rui said, sitting next to her sister, who was almost breaking down.

It had been nearly an hour since she had seen the meteor shower with Miku. After they had gone back to their dorm, Rui got a call from Hibiki that Tsubasa was in critical condition. She came as fast as she could, and learned about what had happened, from the mysterious girl with the Newuhwhuwhatever-you-call-it armor, and Tsubasa had used her Swan Song to try and take her down. The same thing Kanade did to save Hibiki and Rui all those years ago.

Ogawa had already talked to Hibiki, explaining Tsubasa's past ever since she had lost Kanade, and Hibiki, being the bleeding heart that she was, was sobbing over it.

Rui herself? She didn't know how exactly to feel about it. She was conflicted since Tsubasa had been a grade-A bitch to Hibiki, but not only had she gone through so much emotional turmoil already, now she was hovering on the line of life and death. She saw how shaken Maia was. When they came across each other earlier, she saw that Maia was trying hard to keep it together.

"Onee-san?"

Rui looked at her sister, who was trying to wipe her tears.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Can you... can you promise me that you won't hate Tsubasa?"

There it was again. She already had the answer, but asked Hibiki regardless. "Why?"

"She's already been through so much pain. I don't want her to go through any more."

Rui surprised Hibiki by pulling her into a hug.

"You don't have to worry about that." Rui said. "I won't."

She had meant it. She promised Maia earlier, and what had happened today just made her promise stronger.

"And if everything just becomes too much for you... you know I'll always be here for you." Rui said.

Those words just made Hibiki start crying again, as she buried her face in her twin sister's shoulder.

* * *

Standing on the roof of one of the buildings, Rui was leaning against the railing, staring down at the school ground. Hibiki and Miku were talking on a bench behind her, but she wasn't paying attention to their conversation, instead remembering what she had found out yesterday.

The girl in the armor was targeting her sister.

Rui gripped the railing tighter. She didn't know exactly what to make of the news. Worried obviously, but it was more at the fact how useless she felt. She couldn't really do anything to help her sister. Hibiki had gone to a level she could never reach.

As close as the sisters were, they were now leagues apart.

But, turning around to see Miku show Hibiki the video of the meteor shower (though the video was pretty low in quality, thanks to it being night when they shot it), it made it feel like all her worries would go away. She smiled. Different as they may be, they were still twin sisters. No matter what would happen, they'd stick together.

* * *

All of a sudden, she wished she _wasn't_ Hibiki's sister at the very moment.

The second school was over, Hibiki had dragged Rui to the Kazanari residence.

"Ah, Master!" Hibiki said to Genjuro as he opened the door.

"Hmm? You two? What is it?"

"Please, teach us how to fight!" Hibiki pleaded.

"Hold on, _us?_ " Rui asked.

"Me? Teach you two?" Genjuro said.

"Yeah! I figured you'd know some amazing martial arts!" Hibiki said.

Genjuro had a thoughtful look on his face, before crossing his arms. "My training is rather harsh."

"Don't worry! That's okay!" Hibiki said.

"Wait wait wait." Rui said. "I never agreed to any of-"

"You shouldn't be scared, Onee-san!" Hibiki said. "You did gymnastics when we were younger and you were also part of a kickboxing club! You can do it!"

"I'm not scared! It's just..." Rui sighed, raising her hands. "Fine. Guess it can't hurt."

Genjuro leaned in. "By the way. Hibiki, Rui. Are you two into action movies?"

"Me, not so much. But Onee-san loves-MPH!"

Rui had put her hands over Hibiki's mouth, to make sure that she didn't spill anything else to ruin her image.

"Well how about that." Genjuro chuckled, watching as Hibiki tried to shake Rui off. "If you have similar tastes as me, then I suppose you'll enjoy the training."

* * *

The training. Was it brutal? Obviously.

But Rui couldn't remember exactly when she had this much fun. She never expected that Genjuro had learned how to fight from movies such as _The Game of Death_ and video games like _Street Fighter_ , though she did squeal when Genjuro gave her a yellow jumpsuit and Ken Masters gi, both her size. Thankfully no one recorded it.

The training itself was what she expected, but also unique as well. It was a wide variety of exercises. Draining, but not too extreme. It was almost like it was made for her.

Hibiki and Rui even sparred to help each other grow. While Hibiki had asked Rui to not hold anything back, they both knew that would never happen. Nonetheless, the two sparred, and Rui could tell that Hibiki had gotten more skilled.

Even in the backyard of the Kazanari residence, they'd train. Hibiki was kicking a sandbag that was hanging from the tree.

"Good." Genjuro said. "But you need more vigor in your strikes. Sometimes one powerful strike is enough. Now Rui."

Rui stepped up, but then took several steps away from the sandbag.

"Uh Rui, you won't be able to kick the sandbag from that far away." Genjuro said.

"Wait... ah! Onee-san's gonna do something really cool, Master!" Hibiki said.

After getting some distance, Rui faced the sandbag. She took a deep breath, before holding her arms out, right over left. Then, she held them out at her sides, and then ground her right foot against the grass.

With a burst of speed, she ran at the sandbag, before jumping into the air with a somersault, and delivering a devastating kick, all with a powerful war cry. Upon impact, the sandbag exploded. Rui landed with her left knee down, supporting herself with her left hand. She slowly stood up, smirking.

"Impressive." Genjuro said. Looking at the remains of the sandbag, he saw that there was an imprint of Rui's shoe on it.

"See! Onee-san is so cool!" Hibiki said.

"Wait." Genjuro put a hand on his chin. "Kickboxing for lower body strength. Gymnastics for acrobatics. And that entire routine..."

It was almost as if a light-bulb went off over Genjuro's head.

"Rui... are you a fan of _Kamen Rider?_ "

Rui's face turned red as she turned away. "No, don't be absurd."

"That was Kuuga's Rider Kick." Genjuro stated, matter-of-factly.

"Shut up..." Rui said, embarrassed that her inner geek was showing.

"Come on, Onee-san!" Hibiki teased. "Say one of the catchphrases!"

"Stop. Please." She begged.

"How about this one?" Hibiki cleared her throat and made her voice deeper. _"I'm just a passing through Kamen Rider. Remember that!"_

"You're killing me here, Hibiki." Rui said, face in her hands.

"Ooh! What about; _"My life is burning bright!"_ "

"That's it!"

Rui started to chase Hibiki around the backyard, while Hibiki called out _"Ore_ _Sanjou!"_ Hibiki let out _"Now, count up your sins!"_ as Rui tackled her.

"Though to take up gymnastics and kickboxing because of _Kamen Rider_ of all things." Genjuro said, watching the two run around. "I can't help but find that admirable."

* * *

Rui yawned as as she walked to school. Miku and Hibiki were right behind her, talking.

"Hey, Miku, show me that meteor shower video again!"

"But there's nothing there. You're a weirdo, Hibiki."

"Then you're the bigger weirdo for hanging out with me!" _"_

Rui heard Miku's footsteps stop, and she turned around.

"Listen, Hibiki."

"What?"

"It was hard to keep that video a secret. I don't want to hide anything from you, of all people."

Hibiki nervously laughed. "Yeah, I wouldn't hide anything from you either."

Rui locked eyes with her, and they shared a brief moment of understanding.

They hoped that the day Miku finds out the truth would never come to pass.


	5. S1: Chapter 5

Miku Kohinata woke up, only to see that Hibiki wasn't by her side. Looking down over the side of the bed, she saw that Rui was gone too. Wondering where they were, she saw a note at the head of the bed and picked it up.

"Eh?"

Reading it, she saw that Hibiki said she was skipping school to train today. It also had a crudely drawn version of herself apologizing, while dragging Rui by the shirt collar.

"What are they doing?" She wondered.

* * *

"Heyah! Hah! Hut! Hah!"

The backyard of the Kazanari residence was quite active. Hibiki was punching at the sandbag at a steady rhythm. Genjuro and Rui were overlooking her.

"You're doing it wrong." Genjuro criticized.

Stopping the punches, Hibiki looked at Genjuro.

"Your fists should fly like hammers smashing the thunder of the bolt that has struck you." He advised.

"That makes no sense." Rui said.

"I didn't understand a word of that!" Hibiki agreed. "But I'll give it a shot!"

Drawing her fist back, Hibiki felt her blood pump. With a shout, she shot her fist forward, launching the punching bag into the small pond, complete with the branch it was attached to.

Rui's eyes looked like they would pop out of her head, while Hibiki smiled at her growth.

"Good. Now let's put these to work." Genjuro said, holding up two hand targets.

"Actually, I got a better idea, Commander. Can you pass those to me?" Rui asked.

Genjuro gave Rui the hand targets, and to his surprise, the girl slid them onto her shoes. Bouncing a bit, Rui turned to Hibiki.

"Alright Hibiki, I'm gonna kick at you, and you gotta punch them away. Ready?" She said, getting into a stance.

"Wait wait wait, what?!"

"Go!"

"Waaaaaah!"

* * *

In a mansion far off the grid, a young girl was sitting on a chair. She had long white hair and kind, innocent eyes. Holding a yellow plush tight to her chest, she was watching a tv show. It was about a world of superheroes, with the greatest one being a tall muscular man with a smile to match. The man was getting old however, and was teaching a teenager in green to be his new successor.

She was interrupted as she heard screams from the other room, along with the crackle of electricity. She hugged the plushie tighter and tried not to let the tears fall.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Don't worry, it'll be fine." She repeated to herself. "I trust oneesama's judgement. Don't worry, it'll be fine..."

She couldn't stop the tears however, as the screams continued.

* * *

Sighing in exhaustion, Hibiki fell down onto the couch in the base.

"This morning was too hard..."

"There's a champion in the making!" Genjuro encouraged, sitting down across from her.

"Only if she would be more motivated." Rui muttered under her breath, also taking a seat.

Aoi gave them water, and Rui sweat-dropped as Hibiki drank half of the bottle in one gulp. Though now that she was re-hydrated, she had another question to ask Genjuro and the others.

"I feel bad for saying this, since I was the one who decided to do it in the first place, but aren't there other ways to fight the Noise?" She asked. "Why do you have to rely on a high school girl for help? Maybe other countries know something."

"Officially, there's no solution." Genjuro said. "Even in Japan, anything related to Symphogear is classified."

"Really? But I kinda went out there in broad daylight..." Hibiki said.

"Keeping word from spreading is part of our job." Aoi said.

"But that sometimes involves stepping on a few toes, so by now most cabinet members and ministers dislike us." Fujitaka added from his monitor. "They don't even call us the second branch of the Disaster Relief Squad anymore. Just the Disaster Squad."

"What, did the government's upper echelons swore you guys to secrecy, like most tv shows or something?" Rui asked.

"Accurate, but we can't keep up." Aoi confirmed.

"I'm pretty sure they want to use the Symphogear as a diplomatic ace up their sleeve." Fujitaka said.

"The EU and the US are just waiting for a good opportunity." Aoi added. "The development of Symphogear is based on theory and technology that was born from a field that didn't even _exist_ in science before. They must be grinding her teeth."

"So basically everyone is having a lot of issues." Hibiki pieced together.

"Sounds normal to me." Rui said. "By the way, where's the nympho?"

"R-Rui-san." Sakuya said. "That's kinda-"

"Am I wrong?"

"She's away on official business." Genjuro answered, ignoring Rui's comment.

"Official?" Hibiki asked.

"A government big shot summoned her." Genjuro said. "She's doing her job by reporting to the minister in charge with regards to the security of HQ and all the other defense mechanisms."

"This is all so complicated." Hibiki said, confused.

"The people who never want to take responsibility are the ones who make the rules complicated." Genjuro said. "At least Defense Minister Hiroki is a better man than that. Though I will say this, Ryoko is late."

Genjuro looked at his watch while elsewhere, Ryoko sneezed on her drive back.

* * *

Maia was still sitting by her sister's hospital bed. Ever since what happened, she had refused to go anywhere until her sister woke up. She barely noticed the doctors all around her.

She remembered the promise that she had made Tsubasa when they were little kids. She would always protect her, even though Tsubasa was the one that could use the power.

And then Kanade came along. She had been thankful that someone else could help her take care of Tsubasa when she wasn't there for her. But then came that fateful tragedy at the Zwei Wing concert. Tsubasa had become cold and distant, sometimes even to her.

Sometimes, Maia wondered if what had happened to Tsubasa was her fault. Was she a terrible sister? The question ate at her, making her feel miserable.

"Doctor, the patient is conscious!"

Maia's eyes widened as she saw the doctors start rushing around. Looking down at the bed, she saw that Tsubasa's eyes were open.

"Perform a full medical check, quick!" The head doctor ordered.

Tsubasa blinked and looked out the window, taking in the feeling. It was then that she saw her sister. The two couldn't speak yet, not until the check-up was done, but they could see.

And Tsubasa saw her normally cheerful sister crying her eyes out.

She didn't yell, no. These were all silent tears.

Tsubasa didn't know what it was that made her cry as well. Either from the talk she believed she had with Kanade, or from her twin sister's tears. Whatever it was, she didn't know how to feel about being alive.

Maia wiped the tears from her face. She heard a buzz from her phone, the first one in several days. She had hardly even paid attention to it.

Opening it, her eyes widened at the first notification from her Uncle.

Because it told her that Defense Minister Hiroki was dead.

* * *

"Sorry I took so long!" Ryoko said with a smile, walking into the base carrying a briefcase.

"Ryoko!" Genjuro said.

"What is it? Did you miss me so badly?" She asked.

"Don't count on it." Rui said, causing Ryoko to fake falter.

"Defense Minister Hiroki has been assassinated." Genjuro stated.

"What?! Really?" She said, running up.

"Multiple "revolutionary" groups have claimed responsibility, but we don't know anything with certainty yet." Genjuro said as the team pulled up scenes of the crime on screen. "We put every man on the investigation."

"We were so worried because we couldn't contact you either!" Hibiki added.

Ryoko pulled out her phone and tapped it a few times. "Oh dear, looks like it's broken!"

While Genjuro and Hibiki seemed relieved, Rui rolled her eyes.

"And the classified orders I received from the government are safe." Ryoko said, opening the briefcase and pulling out some sort of device. "Let's make sure that the mission is a success. It's what he would have wanted."

Everyone nodded and got to work. No one however, was aware of the small blood splatter on the edge of the briefcase.

* * *

"From the Noise appearing around Lydian Academy's high school, which is to say, the second branch of the Disaster Relief Squad, the government has concluded that their target is to seize Durandal, which lies inside Sacristy D, located on the lowest level of the facility: the Abyss."

Ryoko was explaining the orders she had received to the members of the facility, who were all seated before her. Genjuro stood nearby to help.

"Durandal..." Hibiki said.

"It is one of the few complete relics." Ryoko continued. "The EU handed it over to Japan for safekeeping and management, on the condition that Japan writes off some of Europe's defaulted loans should the EU economy collapse."

"And where would they have us transfer it?" Sakuya asked. "There's no place safer than here!"

"There's a special vault for relics deep under Parliament, which is often simply called the Ruins of Memory." Genjuro answered. "They feel it would be safer there. Since we're government employees, we have no way of refusing an order from the big fish."

"Durandal is scheduled for transport tomorrow at 5 AM." Ryoko said. "The particulars are on the chip here."

At those last words, everyone scrambled to their places, to get ready for the mission. Ryoko sent a machine to retrieve Durandal.

"Is that the Abyss?" Hibiki asked, looking at the screen.

"Mmhm. It's three times as long as Tokyo Sky Tower too." Ryoko added. "Making it almost 1800 meters down!"

Ryoko smiled, before turning to Hibiki. "Alright, you should go get some rest until the mission starts. That's when your job begins."

"Alright!" Hibiki said, running off.

"And me?" Rui asked.

"Nothing." Genjuro said. "It's best if you continue on with your normal schedule for the day."

"Got it." Rui said, turning around.

"But I'm surprised. I thought you would have insisted going to go with Hibiki. You're not worried about your sister?" Genjuro asked.

Rui stopped, but didn't turn to face him.

"Of course I'm worried, but I can't baby her my entire life." Rui said. "She's her own person."

Genjuro smiled, as Rui left. "That girl is going places."

* * *

"Hey, where were you two all day?" Miku asked once the two made it back to the dorm. "You can't just claim to have "training" and vanish!"

"You know I would vanish without even making an excuse, Miku." Rui said, laying down on the bottom bunk.

"...okay, that's fair for Rui, but what about you, Hibiki?"

"Well, you know, that was... I..." Hibiki stuttered.

"Give me a decent excuse!" Miku demanded.

"Sorry! I have to run!" Hibiki said, running out of the dorm again.

"...At least let me worry about you." Miku said, staring at the door.

"You should really keep your thoughts to yourself, you know?" Rui said, pulling out her Nintendo Switch.

Miku turned red as a firetruck as Rui chuckled and went back to her device. But before she could start playing any game, she got a text on her phone. It was from Maia, asking if they could meet up again at the base.

Groaning, she got out of her bunk. "Sorry, but I forgot that I'm meeting up with a friend of mine." She lied. "I'll be back later."

"A-Alright."

Rui was about to open the door, before briefly turning around.

"Miku, Hibiki cares a lot about you."

With those words, Rui left, leaving Miku to wonder just what was truly going on.

* * *

Maia was waiting for Rui in the long wide halls. Rui noticed that Hibiki was talking to Ogawa. Rui looked at Maia, who's eyes were quite red, with large bags under her eyes.

"Jesus, you like like crap." Rui said. "You haven't been sleeping much, have you?"

"No. Not really. But I think I will tonight." Maia said.

"Why?"

Maia smiled. "Tsubasa finally woke up."

Rui widened her eyes. "So that's why you're so happy."

"Yeah. The thought of losing her-"

"Stop." Rui put a finger on Maia's lip. "Don't even think about that. Be glad that she's alive, and don't think of the alternative."

Maia looked a bit surprised at the advice Rui gave her. She shouldn't have been surprised, since Rui had almost lost Hibiki before. But nonetheless, she was thankful for it.

"And don't worry." Rui said, taking her finger back. "I plan to try and bury the hatchet with her."

"Thank you, Rui."

* * *

Night had passed quickly. Early in the morning, Rui had seen Hibiki and the others off on the transport mission. Right now, she was with Maia in a large empty room that had grid-like designs on the walls.

"So, why did you suddenly call me here?" Rui asked.

"Testing." Maia said, pulling out a briefcase. "This is the prototype for the weapon Ryoko made you."

Opening the case, Rui saw a large mechanical belt with buttons on it, and metal greaves with futuristic features.

"Put them on." Maia instructed, pulling out a remote.

Rui slipped on the belt and took off her shoes to put on the greaves. Despite the metal outer shell, the inside was quite soft and comfortable.

"Okay, now what?"

Maia pressed a button on the remote, causing a concrete pillar to rise from the ground.

"This is the training room." Maia explained. "Tsubasa usually spends hours here. Thanks to Ryoko, you can either battle hard light constructs of Noise that act just like them, or go the old fashioned route and smash up some stone. All the waste gets collected and reformed."

"So... what do you want me to do?" Rui asked.

"Those greaves will increase your striking power by an incredible amount." Maia said. "So try kicking that stone pillar."

Rui took up a stance, and got ready. But then noticed that Maia had her phone out.

"...are you recording?"

"Uh, yeah." She said, as if it was obvious. "For research."

Rui shrugged, but with a shout, she kicked the concrete pillar.

A few seconds later, she was on the ground, yelling out every curse word under the sun as she held her sore foot.

"You... forgot to turn it on. It's the green button." Maia said, trying her best not to laugh. The arm holding up the phone was very shaky.

"Delete that footage." Rui groaned through the pain.

Standing up, Rui looked down at her belt and pressed the green button. The greaves and belt lit up for a bit, before the light died down.

"Okay, round two." Rui said, grimacing. "Hyah!"

With a roundhouse kick, the stone pillar was completely pulverized. Rui's eyes widened as she looked at the greave. "Did I... did I just do that?"

"You sure did." Maia said clapping. "Now, try the other feature. Grind your heel against the ground. It should trigger the next mechanism."

Rui did as he said, feeling heat.

But then there was a huge explosion of smoke that covered both of them. When it faded away, Rui was left a coughing, soot covered mess. Maia had some as well, but it wasn't as crazy.

"...well, it looks like Ryoko has to fix that." Maia said, writing down some notes.

"Gee, ya _think?"_ Rui said, as she hacked up some of the soot.

Maia's phone rang, with Rui hearing some smooth jazzy-pop as the ringtone.

"Yo, what's up? ... It happened as we expected, huh? ... Alright, got it."

Maia hung up. "Seems we'll have to end it here for today."

"What happened?" Rui asked, fruitlessly wiping the soot from her face.

"The transport was attacked by the user of the stolen Nehushtan Armor." Maia said. "Thankfully, Hibiki managed to fend them off, but there was a lot of property damage."

"Why?"

"She accidentally activated Durandal during the chaos." Maia said. "Hard to believe, but yeah."

"That idiot, always doing something reckless..." Rui groaned as she removed the belt and greaves. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. But it seems that the transport idea has been abandoned and it'll be brought back to the base. So we'd better get ready to welcome them home." Maia said with a smile.

The two looked down at each other, taking in how they were both smoky messes.

"But maybe after a quick shower for the both of us." Maia said with a laugh.

Rui was grateful that the soot was hiding her own smile.


	6. S1: Chapter 6

Chris Yukine was standing on the edge of a dock, deep in thought and holding some kind of cane.

 _Fin_ _é said that a huge amount of phonic gain is required to activate a complete relic._ She thought. _I spent half a year preparing for Solomon's Cane, but she was able to handle that sword instantly._

She narrowed her eyes. _And that's not all. She even managed to release its power!_

"That monster..." She grit her teeth and looked at the cane in her hand. "If Finé wants me to capture that girl, she must be obsessed with her."

Painful memories came to her mind. "And then... we'll be alone again..."

"Oneesama?"

She turned around to see a girl that looked just like her, but had a much more innocent and kind expression, with longer hair.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh? N-No, it's nothing, Shuri."

Shuri pouted. "I know that's not true. What is it?"

Chris continued to say nothing as Shuri walked forward and hugged her older sister. Chris felt the warmth from her younger sibling, and it did make her feel somewhat better, but she still felt a bit of pain. As the sun rose, Chris saw a blonde haired woman in a black dress staring at them. Shuri didn't seem to care.

"I know." Chris said. "I know what you're expecting of me."

She held up Solomon's Cane. "I can do what you want without needing stuff like this." She said, tossing it to her. "I'll prove that I'm better than she is. I'll crush anyone who has power with my own two hands! That's my goal!"

Shuri shed some small silent tears at her sister's words and tightened the hug. Was the kind sister she knew no longer there?

* * *

The sounds of a crutch and iv pole echoed throughout the school's hospital, as Tsubasa Kazanari took some slow steps forward, breathing heavily with every movement.

 _Kanade..._ _I want to see it too..._ She thought. _Otherwise, I just can't see things the way you do. What's out there, beyond all the fighting...? I want to find out..._

Tsubasa almost fell forward with the next step, but a pair of arms caught her.

"Easy there."

Maia helped her lean against the window.

"I'm sorry, Maia." Tsubasa apologized.

"You don't have to. You know that." Maia said with a smile.

Tsubasa stared out the window, and looked down at the jogging track around the field. She saw Hibiki running along with Miku and Rui. The two of them had stopped a bit to catch their breath, while Hibiki simply ran even faster.

"Hibiki's been working hard ever since your accident." Maia said, looking down from the window at the girls. "She might just be as determined as you are."

"I see..."

"And Rui... I've talked to her a bit. She's not as sour as she seems."

Tsubasa put a hand to her cheek, remembering the strength behind Rui's punch, and remembered her words. She couldn't help but wonder, was Rui right? Was there something wrong with her?

* * *

Rui had returned to the dorm and was waiting for her turn in the bath. Hibiki and Miku always got in together, and she didn't want to interrupt them. Instead, she was reading a book on her bed, but could hear Hibiki and Miku talking.

_"Hibiki, you've changed since we entered Lydian. You never liked putting effort into anything before."_

_"Have I? I don't really feel like I've changed."_

Rui smirked.

 _"Huh?"_ There was a splash of water. _"You've gotten muscular. And you're covered in wounds! What happened? Even here, and here!"_

_"Waaaah! That tickles! Stop, stop, stop, stop! Waaaaah!"_

Rui pulled the book closer to her face, trying to hide her blush even though no one was watching. Trying her absolute best to tune out those two resulted in her freaking a bit when she got a notification on her phone. Picking it up, she saw it was a text from Maia.

_yo wen yo sis gets a call go wit her_

Rui's eye twitched, before she texted a response.

_Text me again, except speak like a normal person._

_Ogawa's got a mission tomorrow. He's gonna give Hibiki a mission after school._

_A mission?_

_Yeah. It's real important. I'll be there too. And pick up some flowers._

_What?_

Maia didn't send another text. Rui sighed and laid facedown on the bed. Just what was in store for tomorrow.

* * *

"Remind me why I had to be flower girl again?"

"Because you ditched class again, oneesan. So you could go pick them up!"

They were standing outside of a hospital room. Turns out, the big important mission was visiting Tsubasa. Rui wasn't really looking forward to it.

"I'm not handing them to her." Rui said, shoving the flowers into Hibiki's arms, before leaning against the doorframe.

Hibiki briefly pouted, but then took a deep breath. "Excuse me!"

The door slid open once the input was done. Hibiki took a few steps and called Tsubasa's name, before dropping her bag in shock. Rui pushed herself off the doorframe and looked inside.

"Hibiki, what's-"

Rui was also put into a stunned silence as she looked inside.

"N-No way..." Hibiki said. "That can't be-"

"What are you doing?!"

Almost instinctively, Rui delivered a roundhouse kick behind her, only for it to be intercepted by an arm block. She was face to face with Tsubasa. Maia was right behind her.

"Man Rui. Didn't take you as the type of person to attack someone that's hospitalized." Maia joked.

Rui groaned as she lowered her leg, while Tsubasa readjusted the grip on her crutch.

"Are you all right?" Hibiki asked Tsubasa fervently. "Are you really okay?"

"You're seriously asking a hospital patient if they're all right?" Tsubasa asked.

"Well forgive us for thinking otherwise when we saw this fucking _crime against humanity."_ Rui said, pointing into the hospital room.

And if one were to describe the hospital room, it would be impossible to explain everything, but the summary was, Tsubasa's room was a _mess_. There was garbage all over the floor, spilled food and drinks, and random clothes were strewn about _everywhere._

Maia started laughing as Tsubasa's stoic façade broke with some embarrassment.

"We thought you had been kidnapped!" Hibiki said, worried. "The people at the second branch had just been talking about international conspiracies too..."

Hibiki continued to drone on as Tsubasa's face slowly became redder.

"Hibiki, you're talking her ear off." Rui said, pulling her sister back. "How about we clean up this place first?"

"Eh? Oh, right. Good idea, oneesan!"

The Tachibana twins got to work cleaning up the room, working like a well-oiled machine. Maia helped out as well as Tsubasa sat down on the hospital bed, watching them work. The girl was blushing a bit, watching them all clean the hospital room.

"Geez... you don't have to do that for me." Tsubasa said.

"No, I don't." Rui said. "But I will because I can't let this landfill grow any bigger."

"I'm usually the one that ends up doing the cleaning." Maia explained.

"Well, Mr. Ogawa asked us to help look after you." Hibiki said. "So we can clean up, at least."

Tsubasa bashfully looked away. "I don't really think about stuff like that."

"That's really surprising!" Hibiki said, carrying a fold of clothes. "I always thought of you as someone who does everything perfectly."

Maia chuckled. "Couldn't be further from the truth. Unless it's kicking Noise ass, my little sis is a total mess."

"Huh, sounds familiar." Rui said, tying a garbage bag tight. "Alley oop!"

She tossed it into the garbage can, a perfect shot.

"And we're done!" Hibiki said, clapping her hands.

"Thus we end the Trash of the Titans." Rui snarks.

"Thanks." Tsubasa said. "Usually Mr. Ogawa does it for me..."

"Wait, you let _Ogawa_ handle your cleaning?" Maia said, raising a brow.

"Hm? Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Tsubasa asked.

"...you're letting a guy clean your stuff." Rui bluntly stated, while Hibiki blushed.

Tsubasa was silent for a good three seconds before she registered Rui's statement and started blushing as well.

"W-Well, when you think about it, I guess there are a lot of problems with that." Tsubasa said. "But I'd rather that than leave my room in a mess."

"Then learn how to clean for God's sake." Rui muttered under her breath.

"I know I'm stuck here for the time being, but I'm still reading the reports." Tsubasa continued, before turning to Hibiki. "I know you're doing a good job taking my place."

"T-That's not true at all!" Hibiki said, waving her hands. "Everyone at the second branch is always helping me!"

Tsubasa smiled, while Hibiki nervously laughed.

"Oh and oneesan had something she wanted to say to you." Hibiki said.

Rui looked away, before Hibiki pushed her forward. Tsubasa stared at her, and Maia made a gesture as if saying "Go on."

"...I'm sorry for saying some rude things." Rui said. "And for punching and kicking you."

Tsubasa looked surprised at the apology, but shook her head. "No, I should be the one apologizing, for treating your sister like that."

"Well uh... I... um..."

It was clear that Rui was not used to this sort of thing, as she stuttered to say something.

"Maybe to get even, you could punch me in the face?" Rui offered.

Tsubasa shook her head again. "It's fine."

She held out her hand, and Rui took it, shaking as a sign of agreement.

"Well, now that you two made up, we'll take our leave." Maia said, grabbing Rui by the shoulders.

"Eh? Where are you going?" Hibiki asked.

"You two should talk too." Maia said. "We'll meet up with you guys later. Seeya!"

"Stop pulling on my hoodie!" Rui shouted.

Hibiki and Tsubasa watched as their older sisters left the room, before turning to one another.

"I... suppose we have a lot to talk about, Tachibana."

"Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

"So... why here?" Rui asked.

Maia had dragged Rui off with her to a batting cage, while Hibiki and Tsubasa had their time to talk.

"I come here sometimes to blow off some steam." Maia said, holding up a bat and getting ready.

The ball shot out, and she gave it a powerful swing. It went flying quite high. Maia hit every ball that came her way.

"Here, give it a shot." Maia said, holding out the bat.

"But I've never actually done this before." Rui admitted.

It was true. She had always been more of a martial arts person over field sports. But Maia insisted, so Rui took the bat in her hands. Gripping it tightly, she moved in front of the safety net and got ready.

"Wait, Rui. You're standing-"

Half a second later, Rui was holding her hip in pain, hopping around and cursing.

"-in the line of fire..."

"I would have appreciated the heads up _earlier_ , Maia." She said, glaring.

Now out of the way of the ball, Rui held up the bat. She was a bit angry now, so maybe she needed this.

Though perhaps the anger clouded her judgement a little too much, since the second ball whizzed past her. She grit her teeth, getting ready for the next one.

"Is there any specific reason you brought me out here?" Rui asked, swinging and missing the next ball.

"Hm? Is there something so wrong with wanting to hang out with my best friend?"

Rui turned around at that, missing the ball again. "And since when was _that_ a thing?"

"I mean, I kinda figured." Maia said, shrugging. "We're two of a kind, you and me. You ever think about that?"

"Not particularly." Rui said, swinging and missing once more.

"Come on Rui, why are you so cold?" Maia asked.

"It's just who I am." Rui said. "Nothing more, nothing less."

The ball shot past her again.

"I never had friends growing up, actually." Maia said.

"How? I thought a person like you would be able to get along with a ton of people." Rui said, swinging.

"Nope. Everyone just knew me as "the girl that looks like Tsubasa Kazanari."" Maia said. "I couldn't really reveal my relation to her because of the paparazzi, so for most of my life, no one knew the real me."

"I see..."

"The only people that knew the real me were Sector Two and my family. Well, Kanade too, I guess." Maia said.

"...what kind of person was Kanade Amou?" Rui suddenly asked.

Maia looked surprised at the sudden, but decided to tell. "Well, she was kind and friendly. Kinda playful too. If she said she'd do something crazy, you'd never know the answer. She was the big sister for Tsubasa whenever I wasn't there."

"Why did she choose to fight?" Rui said, taking another swing.

"...she lost her family to the Noise." Maia said. "She joined us originally for revenge, but then found that helping people was even better. She was just... _cool._ There's no other word for it."

"So that's the type of person Hibiki has to live up to, huh." Rui said, swinging the bat again.

"What about you, Rui?" Maia asked. "What's your big story?"

Maia saw as Rui gripped the bat so hard, she thought it might crack.

"Why ask? I'm sure you and Sector Two have all that information at your fingertips." She said, bitterly as she missed another swing.

"We don't." Maia said. "While we do have your personal information, we don't have your entire life history."

"Oh wow, that makes it _so_ much better." Rui said, sarcasm heavily dripping in her voice.

"Shouldn't you learn to trust people more?" Maia asked. "I mean, you've kinda been working with us for quite a while now, but-"

_**WHACK** _

On the last shot, Rui had finally hit the ball. There was so much strength behind the hit that it through through the catching net and caused some damage to the bat.

"...we should get out of here." Maia said, standing up.

"No, I'll pay for the damage." Rui said. "It was my fault, after all."

Maia looked surprised as Rui explained what had happened to the owners and offered to pay. Thankfully, they were kind enough to see that it had been an accident and let bygones be bygones.

The two walked away from the batting cage. Maia was still observing Rui.

"So, you were saying something?" Rui asked.

"Yeah. I was asking why you don't want to trust some of us. Did something happen to you in the past or something?"

Rui tightened her fist. "It's not my place to say."

"Huh?"

"What happened affected Hibiki a lot more than it did to me." Rui explained. "I'll only talk about it if she's ready to share it."

"I suppose that's fair." Maia said. "Guess I should respect my best friends wishes."

"Oh for the love of-"

"Come on, can't you admit we're friends at least?" Maia asked.

Rui sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, that much I can say."

"It's a start, but thanks!" Maia said, putting her arm over Rui's shoulders.

Rui turned away to Maia couldn't see her smile. She wouldn't admit it, but she did like the feeling of having a true friend. The only other person that really treated her like one was Miku.

And speaking of the girl, she saw that Miku was walking down the street away from them by herself. Was Hibiki really still talking to Tsubasa?

Maia's phone started to vibrate, before she pulled it out and put it to her ear. "Yeah? What is it, old man?"

Her expression changed to that of alarm. "What?! Where?! ... Crap. Alright, I got it!"

She put it back in her pocket, before letting Rui go.

"What's going on?" Rui asked.

"That girl in the Nehushtan armor, the one that attacked Hibiki and Tsubasa, is heading this direction." Maia explained. "Hibiki's already been contacted. We need to get to Sector Two as soon as possible-"

"Wait, she's coming _our way?_ "

"Yeah. Didn't you just hear me-?"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Rui said, turning and running in the opposite direction.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Maia called.

Rui didn't answer as Maia groaned. She knew it was probably stupid, but she followed her friend.

* * *

Rui kept on running. Miku was no longer in sight, but she had a good idea of which way she went. Maia was right behind her.

"What gives?" She asked, as they ran.

"Miku was walking this way earlier." Rui said. "That means-"

_**BWOOM** _

The two held up their arms as they felt a huge shockwave.

"Dammit!" Rui cursed, continuing to run.

_Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~_

The two arrived on the scene to see that Hibiki, transformed, had just punched away a car. Miku was lying on the ground, looking up at her best friend's new appearance. The Nehushtan Armor user was standing several feet away from them, with it being clear who caused all the damage.

"This is the worst..." Rui muttered, running up.

Miku didn't even seem to notice them, her eyes only on her best friend. "Hibiki...?"

Hibiki didn't turn around, but had an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry..."

"We'll take care of things here." Maia said. "Go kick her ass, Hibiki."

Hibiki nodded, before running into the forest, with the Nehushtan Armor girl chasing after her.

"Miku, can you walk?" Rui asked, holding out a hand.

"What... Rui... did you just see-?"

"Yeah. I did." She said. "Come on."

"You _knew?"_ She asked, with hurt and betrayal in her voice.

It stung her, but Rui kept on the hard façade she always had. "Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

The questions started to hurt. "Miku, please-"

_"Why?"_

Rui grit her teeth. Could Miku just stop asking? There were bigger problems on hand.

But Maia knelt down to Miku. "Hey. Miku, right?"

Miku was surprised at seeing someone that looked identical to Tsubasa Kazanari, that it almost snapped her out of shock.

"Listen. I know you're confused right now, but there's some dangerous stuff happening around her." She said in a soft voice. "I promise that we'll try to explain everything to you, but I need you to understand that this isn't the time for questions."

Miku nodded, as Maia smiled at her. Rui was surprised at how well Maia was handling the situation. Had she done this before? Maybe with some survivors of Noise attacks?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another explosion. They looked to the forest, to see that there was a huge plume of smoke rising through the trees. Miku stood up and looked at the destruction, a few tears running down her face.

"Hibiki..."


	7. S1: Chapter 7

Maia had called several members of Sector Two to escort herself, Rui and Miku to safety. The three of them got into the back of a car, driving in silence for a few minutes. To say Miku was nervous was an understatement, but she tried to keep herself composed.

"Are you okay?" Maia asked her.

"Yes, but..."

"You're worried for your friend, right?" Maia said. "Don't worry. I'm sure Hibiki can handle herself fine."

Miku turned to Rui, but the girl didn't say anything.

"Is there anything you want to know?" Maia asked. "I can try to answer your questions as best as I can."

Maia regretted saying that immediately after. The whole trip to consisted of question after question. Most of them were the same that Hibiki herself had asked during their first meeting.

"And you... why do you look so much like Tsubasa Kazanari?" Miku asked at last.

In any other situation, Maia would have said one of her cloning jokes. But not this time.

"I'm her older twin, Maia Kazanari." She said.

"Her twin sister?" Miku asked, quite a bit startled.

"Yup."

"But how come no one else knows about this?" Miku asked.

"My true identity was always kept as a secret." She explained. "It would make both of our lives easier from paparazzi and crap."

Secret. There was that word again. Miku looked down, causing complete silence to be in the car once more.

A beeping noise went off, breaking the tension. Maia pulled out her phone and put it to her ear.

"What's up, Ogawa?"

_"A bit of a status update. Tsubasa backed up Hibiki and managed to help fend off the girl."_

"That's good."

_"But there's some more issues now. We found out that the girl was actually Chris Yukine."_

"Hold on." Maia sat up. "The girl that Uncle was supposed to take in years ago?"

 _"Yeah. Not only does she have the missing_ _Ichaival relic,_ _we got a new issue with this person calling themselves Fin_ _é as well."_

Maia groaned. It seemed like the situation would just keep getting worse.

 _"You can drop off Hibiki's friend and then come back."_ Ogawa said. _"A few things happened with Tsubasa recently too. Good things, for once."_

Maia raised a brow as Ogawa ended the call. She looked at the other two. Miku was still looking down while Rui looked out the window. She sweated at the thick atmosphere.

They pulled into Lydian Academy and stopped.

"Alright, this is our stop." Maia said. "Miku-"

The girl had wordlessly gotten out of the car and started walking off to the dorms.

"I'll make sure she gets back to the dorm." Rui said, stepping out.

"Alright." Maia said. "I'll tell you about anything that happens, alright?"

"Got it."

"Kay. See you tomorrow, buddy." Maia said with a smile.

The two went their separate ways. Maia back to HQ, while Rui walked behind Miku.

Honestly, Rui didn't know what to do at the moment, now that the secret was out. Miku didn't even acknowledge that she was behind her, until they were in front of the dorm room.

"How long?" She asked.

"What?"

"How long have you kept this from me?" She said, turning to Rui with hurt in her eyes.

"...a little over a month."

"Why?" She asked, walking up to Rui. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was for your own protection-"

"I don't care about that!" She yelled. "You and Hibiki were doing this dangerous thing for so long?! And you promised not to keep any secrets!"

" _Hibiki_ promised you." Rui reminded. "I never made that promise."

Being unable to argue with Rui anymore, Miku went back into the dorm and slammed the door shut. Sighing, Rui turned around. She knew when she wasn't wanted. She had no plan on heading to HQ either.

* * *

Maia entered HQ, wondering just what Ogawa had meant about Tsubasa. She was quite curious.

She didn't expect that Hibiki would bump right into her.

"Ah! Sorry, Maia-san!"

"You're awfully chipper." She said. "What happened?"

"Tsubasa-san said she'd help me in battle!" She said with a smile.

"Oh? So my little sis finally lightened up?" Maia said with a grin. "That's great!"

"Well, I got to go now. See you tomorrow, Maia-san!"

She zipped out of the base just as Maia said goodbye.

"Man, she really is something, huh?" Came a voice. "Rui's got one hell of a sister."

Maia turned to see Ogawa standing there.

"So Tsubasa's gonna work with Hibiki for real this time around, huh?" Maia said.

"Seems like it. I was pretty surprised, but your sister's always been full of surprises." Ogawa said. "But still, both Chris Yukine and Ichaival turning up... I got a bad feeling about all this."

"You and me both, Ninjaman."

"Maia-san, I thought I asked you not to call me that?" He said.

"Well I would stop if I was wrong."

* * *

Rui mind was in such a blur, she failed to realize that she had gone back into the city park, despite how late it was. She looked up at the night sky, seeing all the stars shining. The sound of cars rushing by somewhat ruined the image, but didn't deteriorate it too much.

Though what did interrupt the moment was the sounds of kids shouting and crying.

Turning, she saw two kids by a park bench, a boy and a girl. A teenage girl with white hair and a red dress was confronting them. The teenager had her hand raised as if to strike the boy, but the little girl had her arms out protectively, though she had tears in her eyes.

"Oy! The hell are you doing?!" She shouted, running towards them.

"Back off!" The teenager said, whipping around. "Don't butt in- YOU!"

The teenager threw a punch, but Rui caught it, twisting the teenager's arm behind her back.

"That's one way to introduce yourself." Rui said. "But I've never even met you."

Rui pushed the teenager back, who was rubbing her sore arm. She looked closer at Rui.

"But you look just like that idiot..."

"Hibiki did something again?" Rui sighed, putting a hand on her forehead. "I don't know what happened, but she probably didn't mean it."

"How do you know her?" The teenager said, flicking her sore wrist.

"She's my sister." Rui said. "But stop changing the subject, why were you about to hit these kids?"

"Because that kid was bullying his little sister!" The teenager said.

"No!" The little girl said.

"Dad vanished." The boy said. "We were looking for him, but my sister said she couldn't walk anymore."

"You're lost? Why didn't you just say so?" The teenager asked, throwing up her arms.

"B-But... but..." The girl sobbed.

"Stop crying already!" The teenager said.

This naturally caused the little girl to cry even more, as the brother held his arms out protectively. "Don't make my sister cry!"

"What did you expect would happen, genius?" Rui snarked at the teenager.

"Man, I swear you three will be the death of me!" The teenager said, putting a hand to her hair. "I'll help you find him, so just shut up!"

"R-Really?" The girl said.

"Yeah, just stop crying!"

"Who knew. You had a heart of gold after all." Rui said with a smug smirk.

"You shut up too!"

"Might as well ask you what your name is." Rui said.

The teenager scoffed. "So we're all buddy-buddy now? Hah. I'm not here to make friends with you."

"What a coincidence, neither am I. But I don't think you'd want me to call you "bitch" the whole time, hm?"

"You're an absolute pain in the ass." The teenager said. "Chris Yukine."

"Rui Tachibana." She said. "Restrain yourself until we finish helping these kids."

"Oh, so _I'm_ the one who needs to restrain myself?" Chris said. "Look who's talking, asshole."

"You know, maybe I should stick with calling you "bitch" while we help the kids."

"Fuck off with that shit!"

The boy just covered the ears of his sister as the two teens bickered.

* * *

After finishing their little argument, the four were in the city. Since the little girl was tired, Rui had offered to carry her in a piggyback, while Chris held the hand of the boy.

The little girl looked at Chris, who was humming a tune. Feeling the eyes on her, Chris looked at her. "Something wrong?"

"Do you like singing?" She asked.

Chris looked forward. "I hate singing."

"Why hate something you're good at?" Rui asked.

Chris didn't answer her. Getting a bit annoyed at the silent treatment, she was about to ask more forcefully, before the boy yelled out. "Dad!"

They looked over to see a man at a police station, who walked up to them. "Where were you two?" He asked, concerned.

"The two girls there got us lost!" The little girl said.

"No, they didn't. They helped us look for you." The boy said, as his sister took their father's hand.

"Regardless of what happened, I'm sorry you had to do this." The father said, bowing to Chris and Rui.

"N-No, don't worry about it." Chris said, holding up her arms.

"We were happy to do it." Rui said, though her small frown almost said otherwise.

"Did you thank them yet?" The father asked his daughter.

The two bowed. "Thank you!"

"Heh, you're suddenly getting along well after fighting." Chris noted. "Kinda reminds me of my own sister."

"You too?" Rui said. "Huh, how about that."

"We should go now, your mother is worried sick too." The father said.

"Okay, bye bye!" The little girl said.

"Thanks again." The boy said.

Chris and Rui waved goodbye to the family.

"Must be nice, having a father." Rui noted.

"Yeah..." Chris agreed.

The small registration of what they both said made the mood a bit awkward, but Rui did have an exit already.

"I'd better go now." Rui said, looking at the time on her phone. "It's getting late."

Chris didn't say anything as Rui started walking. But she stopped, before turning around.

"Hey... whatever my sister did, I want you to know that she was doing the best thing to try and help."

Chris didn't respond.

"It's stupid, but she always reaches out her hand to try and help whoever needs it." Rui said, looking at her hand. "She's much stronger than me."

"Well, what she did wasn't helping, so just tell her to back off." Chris said.

"That wouldn't work since she's stubborn as hell." Rui said. "Once she sets her mind to something, she won't stop."

"Guess that just makes you different kinds of idiots then." Chris snarked.

Rui smirked, before walking away while flipping the bird behind her. Chris just sighed.

_It's weird that they have the same face, but they're so different._

* * *

"I'm home." Rui said, walking into the dorm.

No one answered. Not really a surprise, with how late it was. Walking forward, she saw that Hibiki was lying on the bottom bunk, while the curtains were drawn over the top bunk, where Miku was presumably sleeping.

She saw that Hibiki had dried tears on her face, as she went to sleep. She had made a good call, leaving when she did.

Knowing herself, she'd only make the situation worse.

Not even bothering to change into more comfortable clothes, she simply laid down on the couch, giving Hibiki the full bottom bunk.

There wasn't any point in going to school tomorrow. Nothing big was happening, so she'd probably just ditch.

It would take one troublesome thing off of Hibiki's mind.

* * *

It was nearing dawn, as Chris stood outside the huge double doors. Behind them was a certain someone that she had to confront herself after what she had said earlier.

_If things go South... I'm taking Shuri and running as far away from here as possible._

Chris kicked open the doors with a bang. On the other end of a room was a blonde woman, who was almost completely naked and holding a phone.

"What do you mean, you have no business with me anymore?!" Chris yelled. "You don't need me, so that's it?! You were just using me like an object?!"

Finé didn't say anything, as a voice kept asking from the phone.

"My head is a mess! I have no idea what's right or wrong anymore!" Chris screamed.

Finé hung up the phone. "Why won't anyone do what I tell them to?" She said, before turning around with a cane and firing.

The blasts summoned Noise, which all loomed over Chris. The girl grabbed her pendant.

"I guess it's time to say goodbye." Finé said, stepping forward. "You know, you never had any chance of stopping a war. Not with the way you do things. Every time you crush someone, you sow a few new seeds of discord."

"But you told me... you told me I could end pain and suffering with what you-!"

"You wore the Symphogear I gave you, yet you were no more useful than a flea." She said, golden eyes piercing Chris, before her hand started glowing with energy. "Shall we close the curtains now?"

Chris gasped, as Finé started to chant.

"I am immortal, my armor eternal. I will live until the stars die." Finé said, before her body was covered by the Nehushtan Armor. "My Kadingir is almost complete. I have no more use for what little strength you have to offer."

"Kadinger? You mean..."

"I'm afraid you learned too much." Finé said, raising the staff again.

Gasping, Chris out the mansion and dove to the ground to avoid getting struck by the Noise, who all shot out of the mansion into the sky.

Chris didn't even know how to feel anymore, but she turned angrily towards Finé.

"Where's Shuri? Where's my sister?!"

Finé shrugged. "She disappeared while you were gone. She made the smarter decision than you."

"Wha-?! Shuri...?"

With a sadistic grin, Finé raised the cane again.

"Damn you..." Chris cursed. "DAMN YOU!"

* * *

Rui found herself in the park once more. She had a feeling that whatever was going on between Hibiki and Miku at school wasn't pretty at all. She wondered if she should text Maia, ask if she wanted to hang out.

But then she looked at one of the benches to see a white haired girl sitting there. Her eyes were almost closed, as if she was about to fall asleep.

"Chris?" She said. "Why are you here again-?"

She stopped herself. Looking closer, the girl was noticeably different. Her hair was much longer, and her eyes were much kinder.

_Wait, could she be the sister Chris mentioned?_

Before she could say anything else, the girl fell over on the bench.

"Hey!" Rui ran up, shaking her. "You alright?!"

Putting a hand on the girl's forehead, she felt a noticeable fever.

"Shit..."

Rui pulled the unconscious girl onto her back. She didn't know why, since she could have easily called emergency services, but something told her that she shouldn't. The dorm was out of the question, so...

"Looks like I'm gonna have to make a small trip home." Rui sighed.


	8. S1: Chapter 8

Shuri groggily opened her eyes. Coming to, she felt the soft futon she was laying on, with a warm blanket put over her. She sat up, and looked around to see that she was in a room of a house.

She recalled what had happened. When she heard Finé had come back without her sister, she knew what it meant. So she ran. She ran until she couldn’t anymore, sitting on the park bench. She realized it was foolish, both running without her sister knowing where, and her poor physical abilities, but fear had overtaken her logic. That was her last thought before she collapsed.

But how was she here now?

“Hey, you’re awake now.”

She turned to the open doorway, where a blonde haired girl was standing. Seeing her harsh and scary eyes, Shuri yelled, before pulling the covers over her head.

“W-Whoa! Take it easy!” Rui said, holding up her hands. “I’m not gonna hurt you!”

Shuri carefully lowered the blanket, so she could see Rui. While still scary, she could tell that Rui wasn’t lying.

“Where am I?” Shuri asked.

“I can answer your questions.” Rui said. “But first off, you’re hungry, aren’t you?”

The rumble of her stomach told Rui all she needed to know. She chuckled a bit as Shuri blushed. 

They made their way into the dining room, which opened up to the living room as well. The TV was on low volume, but the screen showed a live-action show of a masked hero fighting against monsters.

The two sat down at the kitchen table, where Rui placed down a bowl of fresh rice, and a tamagoyaki for Shuri.

“It’s not much, but it’s what I could make.” Rui admitted. She used to prepare the same meal for Hibiki, though it was all that she could really cook.

But Shuri loved it. The rice was refreshing, and the tamagoyaki was a bit salty, but had a hint of sweetness too.

“Anyways, what’s your name?” Rui asked. “I’m Rui. Rui Tachibana.”

Shuri still seemed a bit intimidated, but after swallowing another bite, she answered. “S-Shuri. I’m Shuri Yukine.”

“Just by chance, you wouldn’t happen to have a sister named Chris, would you?”

Shuri just nodded, unsure where this was going. Rui just sighed. 

“I don’t have a way to contact her…this sucks.” 

“You know my sister?” Shuri asked.

“Kinda.” Rui said. “Though I don’t know where she is now.”

Shuri looked down in concern. She knew her sister was strong, but she didn’t know if she was safe. The tv show had finished playing, and now switched to anime. Shuri looked at the screen to see a muscular smiling hero fighting against villains, while protecting younger heroes-in-training.

“So you like that show, huh?” Rui noted. “I don’t watch it too much, but my sister does.”

“You have a sister too?” Shuri asked.

“Yeah.” Rui admitted. “She’s kind of a pain, but she’s a good person with an honest heart.”

Rui wasn’t really sure if she was giving a good impression or not, since she was terrible at conversations. While she continued to try and think of what to do, Shuri finished the food. Her stomach no longer empty and her mind clear, she decided to ask Rui questions.

“Why did you help me?”

The elephant in the room, huh? Rui looked up. “I just felt like it. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“But I was a complete stranger. You could have just called emergency services…”

“My house was closer.” Rui lied through her teeth. “And Mom and Grandma were understanding of it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh? For what?”

“Having to take care of me.” Shuri said. “I’m just such a burden…”

“N-No! It’s fine, really!” Rui said. “I was ditching class anyways, so I might as well do _something_ helpful!”

Shuri still looked quite sad, almost as if she didn’t hear Rui’s words. Rui was kicking herself because she didn’t know what exactly to do.

“If you want, we can try finding your sister.” Rui said. “I’m sure she’s still in the city.”

“Th-Thank you.” Shuri thanked.

The two walked through the streets, and Rui noticed that Shuri was clinging on quite tightly, even though they were complete strangers. 

Rui really wanted to slap herself in the face. She wasn’t thinking straight when she said they could try finding Chris, since it would be like finding a needle in a haystack… but there was the possibility that the needle wasn’t there in the first place. Oh well, at least it couldn’t get any worse.

“Yooo! Rui!”

Scratch that. It _could_.

Running up was none other than Maia, typical grin on her face.

“Found out you were ditching, so I decided to come along.”

“How did you even find me?” Rui asked, exasperatedly.

“It wasn’t that hard.” Maia said. “I just had to follow the scrapes on the ground from all your edge.”

“Oh fu-” She quickly looked at Shuri, before censoring herself. “Screw you.”

“Ooh? Who’s this little cutie you got with ya?” Maia said, looking at the girl standing next to her. Shuri ducked behind Rui, poking her head out from behind her.

“Ugh… Shuri, this moron here is my friend, Maia Kazanari.” Rui introduced.

“Aww, you’re actually _calling_ us friends now!”

“I already admitted it. It’s not a shocker.”

“You didn’t say it yourself though.”

“Can you please quit it?!”

Maia laughed as she dodged a punch from Rui.

“But who is this girl with you?” Maia asked again.

“U-Um, I’m Shuri Yukine.” The girl said, formally bowing.

That wiped the smile from Maia’s face. “Wait, did you say Yukine?”

“Y-Yes?” Shuri said.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Rui asked.

Maia pulled Rui to the side, out of earshot for Shuri.

“Is she related to Chris Yukine?” Maia asked, completely serious.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“Answer the question!”

“Yeah, Shuri is her younger twin sister. Why?”

Maia wiped her brow. “We never heard that in the reports…”

“What reports?”

“Rui.” Maia looked her friend in the eye. “Chris Yukine was the girl that had attacked Tsubasa and Hibiki.”

“What?!”

“Our Uncle was supposed to take her in, but she disappeared before he could.” Maia explained. “But the short version is-”

“She’s not dangerous, Maia.” Rui said.

“I know she isn’t, but the person after her is.”

“There’s someone after them?” Rui asked.

“I’ll explain everything when we get back to Sector Two, but until then-”

A Noise alarm went off, startling the three.

“Of all times-!” Maia held back a curse.

“W-What’s going on?” Shuri asked, frightened.

“It’s a Noise alarm.” Rui explained. “Quick, we need to get going.”

The three started running as fast as they could, the two pulling Shuri along. Maia was talking on the phone with Genjuro, Hibiki and Tsubasa.

“So there’s tons of them? Nuts…” Maia put her phone away as they continued to run. She told Genjuro briefly that there was a new development regarding Chris, but they’d explain everything after the crisis was over.

Thankfully, the Noise didn’t seem to target them too much. They managed to avoid the ones that were too slow. Rui swore that she saw them all gather into a far off location in the city, with gunshots ringing out, but she couldn’t be too sure.

Shuri then stumbled and fell. The Noise were hot on their tracks.

“Crap!”

In a pointless effort, Rui threw herself over Shuri, to shield her. She closed her eyes, steeling herself for death.

_Sorry, Hibiki._

“Grab my hand!” Maia yelled.

Instinctively, Rui did so, and felt herself and Shuri get hoisted off the ground in a burst of speed. They realized that they were now in the sky.

“EHHHHHHH?!” They both shouted.

“You guys fine?”

They were sitting on a mechanical board, while Maia was standing.

“Hold on tight. This is my second time using the thing.” Maia said.

“Wh-Wh-What is this?!” Rui yelled.

“You think Ryoko only made _you_ a weapon prototype?” Maia said. “I got this sweet board that comes with being two swords on the side!”

“Wait, a _prototype?!_ ”

“It’ll be fine! There wasn’t any explosion in the testing earlier!”

Shuri clung onto the two for dear life, even though there wasn’t much danger. Rui herself was getting a bit pale at the speeds they were going. Though out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hibiki and Miku down by the river.

“Maia! Down there!”

“On it!”

The three came for a slow landing, while Hibiki and Miku had just taken a picture together. Stepping off the board, it retracted into a cube, which Maia picked up.

“This is still so damn cool.” Maia said to herself.

“Oh, oneesan!” Hibiki waved as her sister came over.

“You look a mess, but are you alright?” Rui asked.

“Mm! I’m fine!”

“And it looks like you and Miku made up.” Rui noted.

“I’m sorry for how I treated you, Rui.” Miku said.

“It’s fine. What’s in the past is in the past.” Rui said.

“Well, you’re all safe, so I guess that’s a win for today.” Maia said.

It was then Hibiki and Miku noticed something.

“Uhh… Maia-san?” Hibiki said.

“Yeah?”

“Why do you have a girl that looks like Chris-chan clinging onto your leg like that?” She asked, pointing.

Maia looked down to see Shuri _still_ holding onto her leg.

“H-Hold on a sec! How long has she been like that?!” Maia asked, blushing.

“The whole time.” Rui said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Revenge for the teasing earlier.” Rui smirked.

* * *

They had regrouped with Genjuro and Ogawa while the rest of Sector Two helped with the cleanup. After all the excitement and rush today, Shuri had fallen asleep leaning against Maia. The Kazanari was blushing, but tried to keep a straight face as the others talked.

“Uh, Commander.” Hibiki said. “Miku was at the scene when I was fighting, and saw quite a lot of it…”

“No, it’s my fault I got involved!” Miku insisted.

Genjuro sighed and put a hand on the back of his head, while Rui smiled. It was a familiar sight, seeing Hibiki and Miku cover for each other.

“I’ll read the details in your report.” He said. “But I guess this is what you’d call having unexpected help. Not to mention, I can’t blame someone for helping save lives.”

Miku and Hibiki smiled, before cheering and sharing a quick hi-five. Though the clap was nullified by the sound of a car driving up. Ryoko stepped out of it, a smile on her face.

“The star of the party always arrives late!” She said, fixing her glasses. “Now, where should I begin the cleanup…”

Ryoko went to work, not noticing the others.

“It’s like watching a clown perform.” Rui snarked, as some of the others laughed.

“All right, just leave the rest to us adults.” Genjuro said, as Aoi walked up with refreshments. “You have yourselves a well-earned rest.”

The girls all nodded, before Miku had something else to ask Genjuro. “Um, excuse me… I got separated from a friend in all the commotion. Her name is Chris Yukine.”

Genjuro and Rui looked over at that, while Shuri mumbled in her sleep.

“She’s not on the list of casualties.” Genjuro said. “I’m sure you’ll be able to get in touch with her soon. Don’t worry.”

Miku let out a breath of relief. “I’m glad.”

“Wait, you’re not coming home yet?” Hibiki asked Rui.

“Got a few things I need to speak to the Commander with.” Rui said. “I’ll catch you guys at home later.”

“Okay, oneesan.”

Hibiki gave her sister a big hug, before heading back with Miku. Rui and Genjuro watched as they left.

“So, Chris Yukine has a sister then?” Genjuro said, as they looked at Shuri sleeping next to Maia.

“Yeah. Though they got separated for some reason.” Rui said.

“Still, can you believe this?” Maia said, incredulity on her face. “ _Three_ sets of twins, and all of the twins have a Symphogear user? What are the odds?”

“This feels like some really crappy fanfiction.” Rui said, and Maia nodded in agreement.

“Hmm.” Genjuro looked at Shuri.

“What is it, Uncle?” Maia asked.

“We had never received any information about Shuri when had decided to take in Chris.” Genjuro remembered. “I had several people try going through files, but they found nothing.”

“What are you saying?” Rui asked.

“Shuri Yukine does not officially exist.” Genjuro said.

“Even more secretive than how it was for me, huh...” Maia noted, looking at Shuri’s sleeping face.

“Why wouldn’t he get an identification?” Rui asked.

“It’s possible her parents had been trying to protect her.” Genjuro suggested. “Chris and Shuri had been homeschooled and raised by their parents, from what the reports said. Perhaps they only got Chris an identification, and Shuri didn’t.”

“Why would they do that?” 

“Hmm… perhaps they believed that if anything happened to them, someone would adopt Chris, and unknowingly adopt Shuri as well.”

“But wait.” Maia thought for a second. “If Shuri legally doesn’t exist, doesn’t that make it impossible to adopt her unless she gets an identification first?”

“That’s true as well.” Genjuro said. “I’ll take her to get one tomorrow, to prevent any more legal complications.”

“But what about Chris?” Rui said. “She’s still out there somewhere.”

“I wouldn’t worry about her.” Maia reasoned. “She’s a pretty tough Symphogear user, from what Hibiki and Tsubasa have told me.”

Genjuro didn’t say anything, as he took a sip of coffee.

“Everything’s just getting needlessly complicated.” Rui said, ruffling her hair. “Well, I’d better head back now.”

“Alright, good night, Rui-kun.” Genjuro said.

“Right back at you, Commander.” Rui said, turning around.

“See you tomorrow, buddy.” Maia said.

“Oh yeah. Maia?”

“What is it?”

Rui looked over her shoulder with a smirk. 

“Don’t try anything funny with Shuri.”

That comment left Maia a spluttering mess, as Genjuro laughed at his niece losing her typical playful composure.

“O-Oy! Don’t be absurd, Rui! I wouldn’t do anything like that!”

She was irritated to hell and back by Rui’s satisfied smirk. She would have gotten up to chase her, but Shuri was still sleeping on her shoulder.

Even so, Maia smiled. Rui was lightening up. Making jokes. It was everything she had hoped for.

But Rui’s words didn’t leave her mind, as she looked back at Shuri’s cute sleeping face.

* * *

“I’m home.”

Rui opened the door, only to hear laughter from inside. She already guessed what it was. Walking in, she saw Hibiki and Miku on the top bunk again.

“So I got the bottom bunk to myself again?” Rui said. “Good.”

“Oh, welcome back oneesan!” Hibiki said.

“Yeah yeah.” Rui said, changing into her pjs. “You two better not make any loud noises. I’m tired today.”

They both nodded and agreed as Rui slid down in the bottom bunk. But they soon started talking again.

She let it slide though. They were friends again, and she didn’t want to ruin that moment.

Because small moments like these were always worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shuri Yukine - Chris's younger twin. A timid and kindhearted girl.


	9. S1: Chapter 9

“So there was a secret base under the school the whole time?” Miku asked, looking around Sector Two.

She was walking around with the Tachibana twins accompanying her.

“That’s pretty much the same thought I had.” Rui admitted.

“Oh! Tsubasa-san!” Hibiki called, running down the hall. At the end was none other than the idol herself, along with Maia, Ogawa and Fujitaka.

“Ah, Tachibana.” Tsubasa looked over Hibiki’s shoulder to see Miku. “Is this the girl who wanted to help out?”

“Um, nice to meet you.” Miku said, bowing. “I’m Kohinata Miku.”

“Hee hee, she’s my best friend!” Hibiki said, almost proudly.

“I’m thinking maybe a little more.” Maia whispered to Rui, before tossing her a water bottle. The latter rolled her eyes, but didn’t make any comments.

“I know Tachibana will be a huge pain as always, but please help her as best as you can.” Tsubasa said.

“Well, she’s painful by nature, so I’ve come to accept that.” Miku bluntly admitted, as Rui hid a laugh behind her fist.

“Hey, since when did this become a roasting competition for me?!” Hibiki shouted.

“It wasn’t already?” Maia joked.

“Well, it looks like these two have already found something they can agree on.” Ogawa observed, referring to Tsubasa and Miku.

Hibiki pouted, clearly not happy about how her being a pain was something they agreed on, as the Tsubasa and Miku shared a laugh.

“Though, it is kinda weird being down here with Miku.” Hibiki said.

“That would be thanks to me.” Maia said, raising her hand. “Thanks to the Commander’s connections and my expert persuasion skills, we were able to get Miku registered as an external collaborator of Sector Two.”

“...who’s balls did you threaten to crush?” Rui asked haphazardly.

“But, you may still run into a few inconveniences here and there.” Maia continued, ignoring Rui.

“It’s all been explained to me. I understand the full implications of my work here.” Miku said. “Please, you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Oh, that reminds me, where’s the Commander?” Hibiki asked, noticing he wasn’t around.

“Now that you mention it, we  _ were _ looking for him-” Tsubasa started, before a familiar voice rang out.

“Well, isn’t that nice?”

“Oh God.” Rui groaned, as Ryoko walked up to the group.

“I  _ love _ a bit of girl talk.” The scientist said. 

“While your interests are of no concern of mine, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t act like I wasn’t even here.” Ogawa muttered, though Fujitaka said nothing.

“So you’re into that kind of thing as well, Ms. Ryoko?” Hibiki said, excited.

“But of course!” Ryoko said, pointing a finger up. “Why, just listen to my epic tale of love, and you won’t get a wink of sleep that night.”

“S-Sounds more like a horror story.” Miku lampshaded.

“Whoa, Ms. Ryoko’s epic tale of love?” Hibiki said, completely oblivious. “I bet she met a rich gentleman at a fancy bar and…”

“They got blackout drunk, which is the only reason he, or anyone for that matter, bothered to sleep with her.” Rui finished.

Maia wheezed at Rui’s snark, while Tsubasa sighed in exasperation. Ryoko ignored Rui’s comment, as she went into “serious mode.”

“All right. It’s a story from long ago.” Ryoko started. “If you knew the depths of my passion back then, it would shock you.”

Hibiki and Miku had stars in their eyes, while Rui sighed.

“Count me surprised.” Tsubasa said. “I always thought you’d be too busy with your research to look for love.”

Maia looked at her sister with an incredulous look on her face. Surely Tsubasa wasn’t this dense to not have picked up Ryoko’s signs… right?

“You know what they say; life is short, so make the most of it!” Ryoko said. “And the power of a girl’s romance is truly amazing!”

“A girl, huh?” Ogawa said, before receiving a swift blow to the face courtesy of Ryoko’s silent wrath.

“Back in the day, the reason I started researching the relics was-”

“Was what?” Hibiki and Miku said with enthusiasm.

Rui just watched in complete irritation as Hibiki and Miku ate up all the stuff Ryoko was saying. While Maia was used to Ryoko’s antics, she was appalled that the other three seemed to be convinced.

“Oh but, you know, there’s just too much going on to stop and chat here.” 

“But you were the one who came here…” Ogawa muttered, before Ryoko’s high heel was driven into his face, to a concerned Fujitaka. It was a wonder that his nose wasn’t broken.

“In the end, it just comes down to the purity of your heart!” Ryoko said. “You girls need to go out there and begin an epic tale of your own! Well then, bye-bye!”

Ryoko left as quickly as she had arrived.

“And we didn’t even get to hear her story...” Miku noted.

“It’s tough dragging secrets out of that one.” Hibiki admitted.

“All the better.” Rui said. “I’m not talking love tips from a nympho.”

“But you better believe I’ll get it out of her one day!” Hibiki said, determined.

“Please don’t.” Rui begged her sister.

After letting Ogawa recover and Fujitaka went to go do some more work, they sat down to talk some more.

“The Commander still isn’t back.” He noted, seeing that Genjuro still wasn’t around. 

“I should report the results of the checkup to him, but he’s taking a while.” Tsubasa said.

“Where is he though?” Hibiki asked. “And where’s that girl that looked like Chris-chan?”

“He said he was going to take Shuri to get her some things.” Maia said. “But it’s been quite a bit of time since they left now.”

“Oh, is that her name?” Miku asked.

“Yeah.” Rui said. “And the craziest bit is that she’s also Chris’s twin sister.”

Hibiki, Tsubasa and Miku all looked surprised at that.

“The exact same reactions Rui and I had.” Maia said.

“But we should get going soon.” Ogawa noted, looking at his watch.

“Are you back on an assignment already?” Hibiki asked Tsubasa, considering she had only recently healed up.

“I’m taking it little by little.” She reassured. “Right now, I’m just trying to get used to it again.”

“Don’t.” Rui said to Maia, who was really tempted to make a joke, as the two drank from the water bottles.

“Then, I guess your schedule won’t be too busy yet, right?” Hibiki asked.

“Yes? But why are you asking?” Tsubasa said, a bit confused.

“Let’s go on a date!” 

Rui started choking while Maia spat out the water she was in the middle of drinking.

“Ah! Are you two okay?!” Miku asked, concern in her voice.

“Fucking peachy.” Rui coughed out. 

“A date?” Tsubasa asked at Hibiki’s proposal.

“Damn, Hibiki. Didn’t take you as one to be so forward.” Maia said, wiping her mouth.

“Forward for what?” Hibiki asked. “Miku will be there, and you two can come too!”

Maia was about to make another comment, before Rui put a mouth over her hand.

“Y-Yeah. We’ll be there.” Rui said, briefly nodding, before she flashed Maia a death glare. Maia wisely kept her mouth shut, lest she wanted to be on the receiving end of one of Rui’s hooks.

* * *

Genjuro closed his umbrella once he entered the abandoned building. Holding a plastic bag in one hand, he looked down to his left. “Are you alright?”

Shuri nodded. “Is she here?”

“Mmhm.” He confirmed, as they started walking up some of the broken steps. Stopping at one of the rooms, Genjuro opened a door, with Shuri following close behind. Listening carefully, she heard some movement from inside the room.

“It’s me.” Genjuro said, holding out the bag as he walked in. “I brought someone you might recognize.”

“What are you talking about?” Chris Yukine asked. “Who-?”

She was cut off once she felt someone hug her from behind. It was a familiar warm feeling, one that was irreplaceable.

“Shuri!” Chris turned to face her sister, returning the tight hug. “Are you alright? Did they do anything to you?!”

“N-No! I’m fine, oneesama!” Shuri said.

Breaking the hug, Chris took in her younger twin. Shuri looked much better compared to when she had last seen her. Her hair was cleaner, she had new clothes, and her expression was brighter as well.

“I took her to get an ID.” Genjuro explained. “And after that, to the doctor’s office for a checkup, before to the store to get her some new clothes. I was going to get her something to eat as well, but she insisted that Rui-kun’s cooking was enough.”

That name caught Chris’s attention. “Wait… Rui Tachibana?”

Shuri nodded. “She saved me.”

Chris thought back to the girl from that other night. She had the same face as the idiot, but was completely different. So she was the one that had helped Shuri?

“I’m the only one left to take care of you two.” Genjuro said, before sitting down.

“How did you find me?” Chris asked, still a bit tense, but hugging her sister close.

“I used to work in the secret service, so I’m used to it.” Genjuro said, before holding up the plastic bag. “It’s food.”

Chris looked hesitant, but then her stomach growled in response. Seeing that she was still hesitant, Genjuro took out an anpan. He was about to bite into it to show her it wasn’t poisoned, but Shuri held out a hand.

“May I?”

Genjuro smiled, before giving her the anpan. Shuri broke it in half, before giving one to her sister. Biting into it to show her that it was safe, Chris reluctantly did the same with her half.

“The violinist Yukine Masanori and his wife, the singer Sonette M. Yukine, were helping refugees as members of an NGO when they killed in a civil way eight years ago.” Genjuro said, pulling out a milk carton. “Their only daughter went missing as well. Then the UN Army’s Val Verde intervention changed the situation. The girl was saved from the claws of a local gang, and was transported to Japan.”

Shuri’s eyes became saddened at hearing those names, as she took the milk and gave it to Chris.

“I see you’ve done your homework.” Chris said, taking a sip of the milk. “But I’m tired of dealing with schemers like you.”

“At the time, we had been looking for Attuned all over the world of professional music, so I volunteered to take care of that lonely girl.” Genjuro said. 

“Tch, how nice of you.”

“But that girl vanished the moment she arrived in Japan. We panicked. The second branch tried to assist with the investigation, but most of the people who were involved died or even worse, went missing, and the case was closed. And yet years years later, we find a girl that fits many of the traits of the one who went missing, only to discover that she was the younger twin of the missing girl.” 

“What do you want from me?” Chris demanded.

“I don’t want anything from you.” Genjuro said. “I want to help you.”

Chris looked surprised at that, while Shuri smiled.

“It’s an adult’s duty to finish what he starts.” Genjuro said.

Chris scoffed. “And adult’s duty? I never asked for that! And none of you adults ever helped us before!”

She threw away the milk carton, before running at the window. But she felt a hand grab her. She expected Genjuro to have stopped her, but it wasn’t him.

“Please… oneesama. I’ll tell you what he told me.” Shuri said, a pleading expression on her face as she clinged to her sister.

All the anger in Chris drained away as she calmed down. Genjuro smiled as Shuri spoke soft words to Chris.

“...I need some time to think about it.” Chris said. 

“That’s fine.” Genjuro said, standing up and turning to the door. “You can take all the time you need.”

“I’ll stay with you until you decide.” Shuri said.

“No.” Chris said. “Shuri, if you’ve been treated right, go back with him. You can’t stay in a place like this.”

“But-”

“I won’t be going anywhere.” Chris said. “I promise.”

Shuri looked concerned, but trusted her sister’s judgement. Giving Chris one more hug, she left with Genjuro. Gritting her teeth, Chris fell back against the wall.

_ What am I doing? _

* * *

Tsubasa looked at her watch. “Where could those girls be?”

“Hard to say for sure.” Maia said, hands behind her head. “You can never be too sure with those girls.”

Almost as if on cue, Hibiki, Miku and Rui came running up, all of them out of breath.

“Sorry, Tsubasa-san, Maia-san!” Hibiki said.

“You’re all awfully late.” Tsubasa said.

“Sorry.” Miku apologized. “I should have expected it, but Hibiki overslept again.”

“I kinda expected it for you two. But what’s your excuse, Rui?” Maia asked.

“I… honestly forgot about it until Hibiki woke up.” She said, sheepishly.

“We shouldn’t waste time.” Tsubasa said, not noticing how impressed Hibiki and Miku were with her casual outfit. “Let’s hurry.”

She turned and started to walk.

“Looks like she was really looking forward to it.” Hibiki noted.

“Yeah, she was crying me a river since you guys weren’t here on time.” Maia said with a grin.

Tsubasa stopped before turning around with a blush. “I just want to get back the time we lost because certain individuals here were late!”

Hibiki and Miku winced at the shouting, while Rui rolled her eyes.

“Now  _ that’s _ more like her.” Hibiki said.

The first stop the girls made was at a souvenir store. It was fun looking at all the little trinkets they had, as they varied from antique to modern. Surprisingly, the only person who bought anything was Rui, having picked up a Kamen Rider Ex-Aid sleeping mask. Tsubasa thought it looked a bit ridiculous, and Rui insisted that it was because she needed one to sleep and it was the first one she saw. Hibiki, Miku and Maia knew the real reason though, but kept silent. 

Next up was checking out a movie. They decided on a romantic one called “Happy Love.” Hibiki, Miku and even Tsubasa were tearing up quite often at it, though Maia was bored. She had studied enough overseas about writing that she could figure out the formula quite easily.

“This is so cheesy.” Maia whispered. “How you holding up, Rui? … Rui?”

Maia looked over and sweatdropped to see that Rui had fallen asleep. The Ex-Aid eye mask was on her face as she softly snored.

After the movie, they grabbed a quick ice cream snack, before going to the obvious place; the clothing store. They decided to have a bit of a fashion show with all the different clothing combinations they could find. Some worked out well, some looked absurd, but they had fun. Though they had to get out soon after, as Tsubasa started getting recognized by several fans. They all had a good chuckle about it afterwards though. Their next idea to maybe cool down a bit was go to the arcade… though Hibiki was mostly getting fired up.

“Just you watch, Tsubasa-san!” Hibiki said as they all stood at the crane game. “I’m gonna get the one you want!”

“That would be nice, but aren’t you getting… a little bit too into this game?” Tsubasa asked.

“That’s just how Hibiki is.” Rui said. “She acts like this whenever we play video games together.”

Hibiki scanned her play card before slamming the button with her fist, letting out a screech comparable to a pterodactyl.

“Though do you  _ have  _ to yell like that?” Miku asked, hands over her ears.

The crane clamped over a plushie and lifted it up… before it slipped out.

“This machine is rigged!” Hibiki yelled. “I think I must be cursed…”

She then had a look on her face that was an odd mixture of thoughtfulness, mischievousness and irritation. 

“If the machine’s already broken, then it’s no problem if I damage it further, right?” Hibiki reasoned. “I’ll just summon my Symphogear and-”

“Tachibana, let’s sort this out peacefully!” Tsubasa said.

“Maybe this anger will finally summon my Armed Gear!”

“Don’t yell so much!” Miku shouted.

Rui yawned, before feeling a tap on her back. Maia was standing there, having shown up suddenly.

“Yo, Rui. Wanna play a match of this?”

Rui looked over Maia’s shoulder to see that the girl was pointing at a vs game. One that featured several masked heroes that she knew; Kamen Rider: Ganbarizing Neo _.  _ A card battling game that was incredibly simple. Place three cards, and hologram projectors would create those Riders on your side of the field, letting the two sides battle, with the outcome based on logic around weapons and power. It was essentially a heavily advanced version of rock-paper-scissors, but way cooler.

Maia pulled out a couple of cards. “You wanna borrow mine? That way we can-”

Wordlessly, Rui reached into her coat pocket, surprising Maia by pulling out a deck box. “Let’s go.”

Maia chuckled as they both went to other sides of the dueling field. The other three simply watched over.

“Kick her butt, oneesan!” Hibiki cheered.

“I plan on it.” Rui said, as both she and Maia chose three cards.

“Here’s my unbreakable strategy!” Maia said. “I’ll go with this trio!”

She placed down the cards one by one, summoning a black-green Rider, a silver-blue Rider, and a red-silver Rider. All three of them had swords.

“The triple sword combo between Black RX, Blade and Saber.” She said, chuckling. “With all of them being sword Riders, their attack power is tripled! And they get the double attack point boost since they’re all from different eras!”

“As expected.” Tsubasa said, arms crossed.

“You knew she would do this?” Miku asked.

“Indeed.” Tsubasa said. “The three sword Riders from each generation is one of her favorite combos.”

“You like this type of thing too, Tsubasa-san?” Hibiki asked.

“I have only heard about it thanks to my sister always telling me about it.” Tsubasa explained. “But back to the topic on hand, I don’t see a way your sister can win, Tachibana.”

“Hee hee.” Hibiki laughed with a grin. “Just watch this, Tsubasa-san.”

They turned back to the game, where Maia was laughing just like an anime villain.

“You have no method of winning, Rui!” She boasted. “You should give up now!”

Wordlessly, Rui placed her first card on the table, summoning an iconic grasshopper hero with a red scarf.

“Kamen Rider Ichigo, huh?” Maia asked. “Iconic, but he won’t be able to help you here. It’s over.”

The confidant grin on Maia’s face disappeared as Rui placed two more cards on the field. The first one was of a rider that was gold and black, backed up by the spirits of two red and silver Riders. The second one was a neon green and red Rider, backed up by the spirits of a silver samurai Rider and golden Rider with statues all over his suit.

“I bring into play, Kamen Rider Kuuga Ultimate and Kamen Rider Zero-Two, empowered by Agito Shining, Ryuki Survive, Gaim Kiwami Arms and Grand Zi-O.” Rui said, a smile forming on her face. “Because of how Ichigo, Kuuga and Zero-One are all the first Riders in the Showa, Heisei and Reiwa era, their attack power is doubled. Toss in the fact that they’re all martial art type Riders, their attack power is tripled. And then the empowerment from their support multiplies their attack power by four.”

“Wh-What…?” Maia stammered.

“In layman’s terms, my team’s attack power has just been multiplied by  _ twenty-four!” _ Rui declared.

“N-No way!”

“The finisher!” Rui shouted, flicking her wrist and pointing forward. “Go!”

The holographic Riders on Rui’s side of the field all jumped and kicked at Maia’s, causing a massive explosion. Rui’s Riders landed safely, while Maia’s had been obliterated.

“Noooo! My fearless Riders!” Maia cried out in despair, falling to her knees.

“Train for a thousand years before even thinking of facing me again.” Rui boasted, before pointing up. “The girl who walks the path of Heaven, and rules over all.”

“...this is an odd side of your sister, Tachibana.” Tsubasa said, watching as their twins were dramatically overreacting to the result of the game.

“Oneesan doesn’t play to lose, she plays to win.” Hibiki said. “But she… can be a bit full of herself when she does.”

Rui and Maia had eventually escalated their banter until it was basically a shouting match, until Miku spoke up, louder than both of them.

“If you all want to scream your lungs out, I know just the place!”

* * *

Miku had brought them all to a karaoke lounge.

“Amazing! This is just amazing!” Hibiki shouted, expression shining.

“It’s just a karaoke bar, Hibiki.” Rui said as she stretched out on one of the seats.

“No no, it’s not that!” Hibiki said, leaning over the table. “We’re going to sing karaoke with a real pop star!”

“It’s not that big of a deal.” Maia said. “I sing with Basa all the time.”

“Well, you’re sisters, so that’s kind of different.” Miku said, as Tsubasa pressed the selection tablet and stood up with a mic, briefly bowing as the song started.

“I always wanted to try singing something like this one day.” Tsubasa confessed, before getting into the mood.

The song Tsubasa was singing was noticeably different from the songs she normally sang. Yet, she made it work so well. Her beautiful voice was soothing and flowed well with the traditional instruments of the song.

“She’s so cool!” Hibiki whispered.

“It’s so… relaxing…” Rui said quietly.

When Tsubasa finished singing, they all clapped for her.

“Amazing…” Miku said.

“Thank you.” Tsubasa said, with a small smile.

“Hey, Rui.” Maia said. “What say you and I do a duo together? Can’t let Basa hold all the spotlight.”

“I’m… not really a good singer.” Rui said. 

“Lies.” Hibiki said almost immediately with a grin on her face. “Should I tell them, oneesan?”

“Please don’t.” Rui said, face turning red.

“Oh hey Rui. They got  _ W-B-X ~ W-Boiled Extreme ~  _ here!” Maia said, a grin equally as mischievous as Hibiki’s. “C’mon, you can get the part of the guy who sings less!”

“I refuse.” Rui said, suddenly serious as she grabbed a mic and stood up. “I’m singing the main role.”

“Well, at her Majesty’s command.” Maia chuckled, as she stood up with a mic of her own.

A jazzy J-pop theme started to play, but then Tsubasa asked them a question.

“Wait, what’s this from?”

“Oh, it’s musical artist Aya Kamiki collaborating with guitarist TAKUYA.” Rui said.

“No, what’s it  _ from _ ?” Tsubasa asked again, putting more emphasis on the last word.

“... _ Kamen Rider _ .” Rui said, face turning red.

Hibiki and Miku hid a few laughs behind their hands, while Maia grinned. Tsubasa just stared at Rui while she and Maia sang. It was still so jarring to see Rui obsessed over what was nothing more than a children’s show.

Still, it was nice to see that even Rui had soft spots. And her singing was pretty impressive as well.

* * *

Tsubasa was breathing heavily as she walked up some stone steps. She looked up to see Hibiki and Miku already at the top.

“How do you two have so much energy?” She asked.

“Same question I’ve had for years.” Rui said, lower on the stairs alongside Maia.

“You just tire out too easily, Tsubasa-san!” Hibiki said.

“I suppose it’s all unusual for her.” Miku added.

“I am but a sentinel, watching over the field of battle.” Tsubasa said, as she reached the top of the stairs.

While the others looked at Tsubasa with smiles (or neutral faces, in Rui’s case), Maia’s look was one of concern.

“Today, I felt like I saw a whole new world I’d never known.” Tsubasa said, with a smile on her face.

Maia crossed her arms, and the frown she had slowly turned upside down.

“That’s not true!” Hibiki said, grabbing Tsubasa’s arm.

“H-Hey! Tachibana, what are you doing?” Tsubasa asked, as she was pulled over to the fence overlooking the city.

“Hibiki’s always been the forward one, huh?” Maia asked, as Hibiki and Tsubasa talked.

“Whenever she gets an idea in her head, she will act on it.” Miku said.

“Even if the idea is stupid, she will act on it too.” Rui added. “But… that’s just how my sister is, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“You know…” Maia looked at Hibiki and Tsubasa conversing. “I can say the same about Tsubasa.”

The older sisters and Miku smiled, as they all watched the sun set.

* * *

Over a week had passed since the outing. Tsubasa was scheduled to perform at the same arena she and Kanade did years ago. The one where only Hibiki and Rui had survived the Noise massacre. Yet despite the painful memories, Tsubasa was determined to perform, so she could overcome the painful past. 

Hibiki and Miku both got tickets. While Tsubasa had offered a ticket to Rui, the girl declined. When she had been asked why, it wasn’t because she was scared. Rather, Sector Two had given her a bit of a task that day.

“You know, I’m kinda surprised that you’d do this sorta thing.” Maia said, arms behind her head as she walked alongside Rui down the apartment hall. 

“Don’t ask me questions.” Rui said, carrying several shopping bags.

“But that wasn’t a question.” Maia said, as they stopped in front of a door.

Rui knocked on it a few times, before they heard some soft footsteps. The door opened, and behind it was a familiar white haired girl with kind eyes.

“Afternoon, Shuri.” Rui said.

“O-Oh, good afternoon.” She said, letting them in.

“You don’t have to be so nervous.” Maia said. “It’s just us.”

“S-Sorry, force of habit.” Shuri said, nervously.

“But dang, this is the apartment that Uncle got for ya?” Maia said, looking around. “It’s really nice.”

“And clean too.” Rui said, as she placed the plastic bags on the kitchen counter.

“Well, it was a gift from Kazanari-san, so I should treat the place well.” Shuri said, rubbing her arm.

“You really are a nice girl, you know that, Shuri?” Maia asked, as she sat down on the couch.

“T-Thank you, Maia-san.” She said, still a bit nervous.

“Come on, there’s no need to be so formal!” Maia said with a laugh.

“S-Sorry…”

“Aw, stop apologizing.” Maia said. “You’re making me feel bad!”

“Sorry… uh, I mean sorry!” Shuri sputtered. “I mean, um-!”

“Just let her apologize, Maia.” Rui said, as she was cutting up some carrots. “It’ll make things easier for all of us.”

“Fine.” Maia said, leaning back on the couch. “Guess I can lighten up on the teasing.”

“Can you just do what we came here to do?” Rui asked, peeling onions and wiping her eyes.

“You just had to ask. You don’t have to cry about it.” Maia said with a smirk.

Rui would have glared at her, but the stinging sensation in her eyes told her to focus on her own task.

“So, Shuri.” Maia said as the girl sat down nearby. “How is it here so far?”

“It’s… very nice.” She said. “I can’t really thank your Uncle enough, for helping me.”

“That’s just the type of guy he is.” Maia said. “Heck, everyone at Sector Two is like that.”

“I see…”

“Oh, right! Ryoko made a present for you!” Maia said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a light blue pen, with intricate designs.

“A pen?” She asked, as Maia handed it to her.

“Yup!” Maia said with a grin. “It’s called Okami!”

“Umm…” Shuri turned the pen over a couple of times in her hand. “It’s very nice, but why does it have a name?”

“Oh, click the button on the tip. Like, two times really fast.”

Shuri looked confused, but did a quick double click. As soon as her thumb was off, the pen unfolded into a large silver-blue sniper rifle.

“ _ That’s _ why it has a name.” Maia said.

“Uhh… it’s very heavy!” Shuri groaned, pinned underneath the weapon.

“Maybe a heads up would have been a smarter idea  _ before _ you told her to unlock the thing?” Rui suggested, as she dumped chopped up carrots, onions, potatoes and beef into a large pot.

“Yeah, you’re probably right about that one.” Maia said, rubbing the back of her head.

“ _ Probably?” _ Rui repeated, watching as Shuri struggled to push the rifle off of her.

Chuckling a bit, Maia reached over and pressed a button twice on the weapon, and it folded back into a pen, landing on Shuri’s lap. The girl picked it up, staring at it before turning to Maia. “Why give me this?”

“Well, the guys at Sector Two thought that it wouldn’t be good for someone we’re sheltering to be left defenseless. We can’t patrol your place 24/7.” Maia explained. “I ran this by you, in case you wanted something else. Something that would fit you more.”

Shuri looked down at the pen in her hand, and clenched it.

“Like, I doubt that you want to fight alongside us.” Maia said. “You don’t really seem like the person that would do such things. I can-”

“No.” Shuri looked up, determination in her eyes. “Let me fight alongside you.”

Maia looked surprised at that. Rui looked up from tending the pot as well.

“That’s… not the answer I expected.” Maia admitted. “What makes you say that? If it’s about feeling indebted to us, you don’t need to force yourself-”

“It’s not that either.” Shuri said, shaking her head. “I’m thankful that you helped me, but… what you all do… it’s the right thing, isn’t it?”

“The right thing?” Maia asked.

Shuri looked down. “Mama… Papa… they always wanted to help people. I want to be like them. I want to help people too.”

Maia and Rui shared a look. The former smiled, while the latter’s expression remained neutral as they turned back to Shuri.

“Aren’t you selfless?” Rui said, some sarcasm in her voice. “But… I can understand that. My sister’s like that too.”

“Well, I guess that makes it official then.” Maia said, holding out her hand. “Welcome to Sector Two, Shuri Yukine.”

Shuri took the hand, surprised by just how warm it was.

“I’m gonna have to hit up Uncle again.” Maia said. “Ask him to teach you how to throw a punch and stuff. Or at least be able to hold your weapon.”

Shuri laughed, a bit embarrassed about how she failed to lift the weapon off of her. 

“Dunno if she might be able to take the training.” Rui said, pulling out some plates. “It’s pretty tough.”

“I’ll try my best.” Shuri said, holding up her fists. “I know I can do it.”

“Well, you won’t be able to, on an empty stomach.” Rui said, as Shuri’s began to grumble.

“Whoa, what is that awesome smell?” Maia asked, sniffing the air.

“It’s curry.” Rui said, plating it up. “I told you I’d be making it.”

“Well I uh, might have spaced off when you said that.” Maia admitted. “Was a bit nervous about talking to Shuri.”

“Oh, I wonder why?” Rui said, smirking at a blushing Maia while she put the plates down on the table. The other two sat down, thanking Rui briefly, before trying the curry.

“Oh my God.” Maia said, hand over her mouth. “This tastes awesome!”

“It’s so good…” Shuri said, eyes sparkling.

Now it was Rui’s turn to blush. “It’s just curry…”

“Can you teach me how to cook like this?” Shuri asked.

“Me? Teach?” Rui said, pointing to herself as Shuri nodded to affirm her question. “I mean… I guess?”

“Then it’s a promise!” Shuri said, holding up her pinkie.

Rui blinked a couple of times, as she saw Maia grin (though she also had curry around her mouth), before shrugging and making the pinkie promise with Shuri.  _ Jeez, this is something Hibiki would do, not me. _

Dinner was a bit more lively for Rui and Maia, but for Shuri, it was something that she hadn’t had in years.

A feeling of warmth and safety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were probably too many Kamen Rider references in this chapter, but eh. I got most of them out of the way. I'll be sure to tone the blatant ones down in the future.  
> Aside from that, I got nothing else to say to wrap up this year. Merry belated Christmas. Here's to 2021, everyone.


	10. S1: Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to go up on February first, but I decided to post a little early. Why, you may ask?  
> BECAUSE SYMPHOGEAR XDU IS HAVING A COLLAB WITH SUPER SENTAI, THAT'S WHY!  
> So to celebrate, enjoy an early chapter, folks.

"You know, I'm pretty surprised that you survived the old man's training." Rui admitted, giving Shuri a water bottle.

The two were in Sector Two's training room. It had been quite a while since Tsubasa's concert had wrapped up. Shuri had been subjected to Genjuro's harsh training methods, but to everyone's surprise, the girl took them in stride. She had gotten significantly stronger within a short amount of time. Right now, while her strength had increased quite tremendously, her skills at hand to hand were yet to be tuned out. Genjuro had given her the basics and was supposed to train her further today, though he was busy out on some sort of business.

So the task eventually came to her. At first, Rui was a bit reluctant, but Shuri had found out Chris had been seen helping Hibiki during a Noise attack. Hearing that her sister truly was helping strengthened her resolve, and Rui agreed to help train her. After doing some light exercises, Rui had Shuri attempt to strike her. Of course, she managed to block all the hits, giving Shuri pointers on how to go on the offensive. Taking a quick water break, Rui moved on to teaching Shuri self-defense.

"Alright, Shuri. Try punching me." Rui said, standing up.

"Um… okay." Shuri said. "Let's go!"

She threw a punch at Rui's chest, but the blonde-haired teen caught it.

"When you catch the punch, you grab the wrist with the free hand." Rui instructed. "And then…"

Rui twisted Shuri's arm behind her back, pinning it into a locked position.

"Owowow! I can't move!" Shuri cried out, struggling to break free.

"Like that, the pain can distract your opponent, preventing them from thinking clearly." Rui said, letting go of Shuri, letting the girl rub her sore arm.

"That hurt…"

"I guess I can go for teaching a technique that's not as painful." Rui said. "Alright, how about this."

Rui got behind Shuri and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

"So like this, your arms are stuck." Rui said. "However, this isn't a really good tactic, so don't use it. Instead, try figuring out how to easily break free."

"How?"

"You still have your legs." Rui said. "You can try stomping on my foot, or kicking backwards at the leg. Or, since your head is still free, you can-"

_**CRACK** _

The door to the training room opened and Maia walked on in.

"Yo, Rui, Shuri." She said. "The Commander is back and wants us for a meeting-"

Maia's eyes widened as she saw Rui out cold on the floor, a steady stream of blood trickling from her nose as Shuri stood over her, apologizing over and over again.

* * *

The screen of the main meeting room lit up, as Hibiki and Tsubasa's faces appeared.

" _Yes. Tsubasa speaking."_

" _Hibiki here-! Ah, Oneesan! What happened to your nose?!"_

Rui had two rolled up tissues stuffed into her nose, as well as a bit of an annoyed expression. "Training accident. Turns out, you're not the only one with a hard head, Hibiki."

Shuri just blushed as Maia tried her best not to laugh. Genjuro cleared his throat.

"Anyways, we've got a lead." He said, before looking around and noticing someone was missing. "What about Ryoko?"

"She hasn't reported in." Aoi said. "We haven't been able to contact her since this morning."

"I see…" Genjuro said.

"Maybe she's drunk and out cold in a ditch." Rui suggested, causing most of the others to sweatdrop.

" _Ms. Ryoko will be alright!"_ Hibiki said. " _If something happens, she'll just go all "Bang! Boom!" like when she protected me!"_

" _Ms. Sakurai has no combat training. I doubt she'd be able to do anything like that."_ Tsubasa said.

"I dunno, the lady can tank Rui's hooks pretty well." Maia chipped in.

" _But like, don't the Commander and Ms. Ryoko have those crazy superhuman abilities?"_ Hibiki asked, remembering what had happened.

Before anyone could say anything else, an audio only call came in, which HQ picked up.

" _I finally got through!"_ Came the voice of a familiar scientist. " _Sorry! I overslept, then my communicator started acting up."_

Maia felt a grip around her arm, and looked down to see Shuri holding onto it. Normally she'd blush or be playful in this situation, but she saw Shuri's eyes. She seemed to be… scared?

Genjuro narrowed his eyes. "Are you alright? No problems on your side, Ryoko?"

" _Well, I overslept and I missed the garbage collection, but-"_

"No one wants to hear your sob story about how you didn't put out the used condoms." Rui said, causing the others to sweatdrop again.

" _Ouch. But anyways, did something happen?"_

" _Well, at least we know you're okay, Ms. Ryoko!"_ Hibiki said.

"Then that's okay." Genjuro said. "There _is_ something I want to ask you about."

" _My, aren't we in a hurry? What is it?"_ Ryoko's voice asked.

Genjuro's expression was completely serious as he said the next word. "Kadingir. What does that mean?"

" _It's an ancient Sumerian word that refers to a divine existence."_ Ryoko said. " _In a sense, it means a tower reaching for the heavens."_

"So like the Tower of Babel from the Bible?" Rui asked, as a few people looked at her in surprise. "What? I look into stuff like this every now and then."

"If someone had built such a tower, wouldn't we have noticed it?" Genjuro asked.

" _Well, when you put it that way…"_ Hibiki said, thinking carefully.

"I dunno." Rui said. "If stuff like the Symphogears exist, a quick assembly tower wouldn't be too difficult."

"Pfft. All we need to complete it is if they make the tower using panels and bottles." Maia joked, though the only person that got it was Rui.

"Regardless, we now have the enemy right where we want them." Genjuro said. "If we can simply gather more intelligence, our victory is assured. We will strike at the smallest gap in the enemy's defence with all that we have. We shall not miss our chance to land the finishing blow."

" _Roger!"_ Hibiki and Tsubasa said, before leaving the call.

" _I've got a few things to take care of here, then I'll head right over."_ Ryoko's voice said, before ending the call. Shuri let go of Maia, letting out a breath she had kept in.

"You okay?" Maia asked.

"Y-Yes…"

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Rui said, walking up.

"I...I'm fine." Shuri said.

"Hey." Maia smiled at Shuri. "You don't have to be scared. We're here for you, Shuri."

Shuri nodded, but didn't smile.

Everyone at Sector Two got to work, searching through every single file they had, as well as the vast amount of information the government would give them.

"I don't care how small or how unimportant it is, fine every piece of information you can about Kadingir!" Genjuro ordered.

Just as he said that, an alarm went off.

"What is it?!" Genjuro asked.

"We've detected three massive flying Noise!" Sakuya said, before a fourth blip appeared. "No, four!"

"Four? That's going to be an issue." Genjuro said, gritting his teeth.

Not even thirty minutes after they had finished the call earlier, Tsubasa appeared once more.

" _This is Tsubasa."_

"This is the most recent information we have regarding the movements of the Noise." Genjuro said, as Hibiki also came onto the call.

" _Go on, Commander!"_ She said.

"The one that originally appeared in Area 41 is now passing through Area 33, heading towards Area 28." Genjuro said. "Likewise, the Noise in Areas 18 and 17 are now heading towards Area 24. Also…"

"Commander, this is…" Aoi said.

"The trajectories of all four Noise intersect at the Tokyo Sky Tower!" Sakuya said.

" _The Tokyo Sky Tower?"_ Hibiki asked.

"If the Kadingir is a tower, then could it be the Sky Tower itself?" Sakuya suggested.

"The Tokyo Sky Tower serves as a central control node for our radio-based communication and video transmission." Genjuro said. "Hurry to the Tokyo Sky Tower!"

" _Roger!"_ Tsubasa said.

Genjuro looked deep in thought, as Hibiki spoke up.

" _The Sky Tower? But it's so far away…"_

Wind picked up in Hibiki video call, as her expression changed to surprise. The sounds of a helicopter could be heard from her end.

"Overcoming hopeless situations is our job!" Genjuro proudly declared.

Shuri looked at the video feed of the Noise, and looked concerned.

"Will they… be able to do it?" Shuri asked. "It looks so dangerous…"

"Trust me, Shuri." Maia said with confidence. "It takes a lot to kill my sister. Those guys? They're nothing to her."

"And Hibiki's not gonna go down to them either." Rui said, a hint of pride in her voice.

Rui looked down. It was nice to see they were both so trusting in their sisters. If only she could feel the same way.

"Don't worry."

Shuri felt a large hand pat her on the head, and looked up to see Genjuro giving her a smile.

"She'll come as well." He said.

"Wait, who?" Maia asked.

"You mean Chris?" Rui said, remembering the girl that she helped with the two lost children weeks ago.

"How do you know?" Shuri asked.

Genjuro didn't say anything, as he pulled out a communicator and put it to his ear. "You're not busy, I hope?"

" _I walk into the city and I see the Noise looming over like helicopters. No I'm not busy."_ A snarky voice rang out, one that Rui and Shuri recognized.

"That's already a perfect situation." Genjuro said. "Then would it be possible-"

" _You want me to help? Hah."_ Chris said.

"Oneesama, please." Shuri spoke up. "Help them."

" _Shuri?"_ The voice became softer. " _You're-?"_

"Hibiki-san and Tsubasa-san both have big sisters." Shuri said. "Big sisters like you! You understand, right?"

" _I…"_

"Man, I didn't expect you to be a wimp." Rui shot at through the communicator.

" _That voice… it sounds like the idiot, but… no way…"_

"Yes, it's me." Rui said with a smirk that she knew Chris couldn't see. "Or would you rather that I use the name I gave you when we met? Bitc-?"

" _DON'T YOU DARE SAY WORDS LIKE THOSE AROUND SHURI!"_

The others were taken a bit aback at the sudden outburst, while Shuri looked confused.

"What word?" She asked.

"Uh… don't think too hard about it." Maia said with a nervous smile.

Rui cleared her throat before speaking. "But anyways, sounds to me like you're running away from the problem. That doesn't seem like the girl I know."

" _You've only met me for less than an hour."_

"Yeah, but I already got a good read on you." Rui said. "So what? You gonna keep running?"

" _Shut up."_

"Oh what? Can't hear the truth?" Rui teased.

" _It's not the truth because I'm already here… jerk!"_ Chris said, substituting the last word for something less crude.

The camera footage indeed showed several of the Noise that Hibiki and Tsubasa were fighting had been peppered with bullet holes. Sure enough, standing on the battlefield was Chris, already in her Symphogear Armor. Hibiki and Tsubasa just stared, surprised that she had shown up.

" _This piece of crap wouldn't stop squealing like a stuck pig, so I figured this at least might shut it up!"_ She said, holding up the other communicator. " _Don't get me wrong! It's not like I wanted to help you or anything!"_

"You… do realize you could have just tossed the thing, right?" Rui said into the communicator. "Also, freaking tsundere."

" _Zip it, jerk!"_

"But you fit that to a "T" though!" Maia chimed in.

" _Oh God, now I'm hearing a cheerful version of the blue-haired one."_ Chris groaned.

"I'm Maia, Tsubasa's big sis!" Maia said. "I'd say "nice to meet you," but I don't think it counts through the phone. Can't wait to talk to ya! Now, go kick some Noise butt! … Actually, do Noise even have butts...?"

"Sorry, the help's arrived a little late!" Genjuro spoke into the communicator to Hibiki and Tsubasa.

The footage was from a distance, but they could still see Chris blush at being found out. Hibiki was grinning from ear to ear, while Tsubasa looked unsure. " _Help?"_ She repeated.

"Yes, it's the Symphogear user bearing the second relic, Ichaival." Genjuro said, introducing her like a pro fighter. "Chris Yukine!"

" _Chris-chan~!"_ Hibiki yelled as she hugged the white-haired user. " _Thank you so much-!"_

The communicator cut off as it was knocked out of Chris's hand thanks to Hibiki's big hug, though they thankfully could still hear fairly well thanks to the video footage.

" _I knew you'd join us sooner or later!"_ Hibiki said, still hugging her.

" _Are you an idiot?! Are you even listening to me?!"_ Chris yelled, blushing as she struggled to push Hibiki off of her.

" _We should concentrate on dealing with the Noise for now."_ Tsubasa said, walking up.

Chris finally broke from Hibiki's grip, before boasting. " _I'll handle it myself! Just stay outta my way!"_

Hibiki had a look of shock, while Tsubasa looked annoyed, almost offended, as Chris shot down dozens of Noise in the air.

" _Let's leave the airborne Noise to her."_ Tsubasa suggested to Hibiki. " _We'll handle the ones on the ground."_

" _Roger!"_ Hibiki said.

For a few moments, it seemed to be simple and easy. The girls were handling the Noise with ease, and it looked like the situation was under control. Until mid-battle, Tsubasa and Chris accidentally backed into one-another.

" _What are you doing?!"_ Chris snapped. " _Get out of the way!"_

Tsubasa didn't get angry, but rather, spoke calmly. " _Come to your senses. Do you wish to fight alone?"_

Maia's eyes widened as she watched the live footage. This wasn't something that she had expected from Tsubasa.

" _I'm always alone."_ Chris said. " _Did I miss the part where we became best friends?"_

"She… said the same thing to me when we first met." Rui said.

"Sorry, but oneesama doesn't open up easily." Shuri apologized.

" _We may not have any reason to fight each other, but then, we don't have any reason_ not _to fight, either!"_ Chris continued. " _If it wasn't for the fact that my sister was with you guys, I would've gone at you again like before! You can't expect people to just-!"_

Chris stopped, as Hibiki grasped her hand with her own.

" _Yes we can!"_ Hibiki said. " _We can settle our differences with anyone."_

"Hey, Rui?" Maia asked, looking away from the screen. "What is she-?"

Rui smiled. "She's doing what she does best."

Hibiki used her other hand to grasp Tsubasa's as well.

" _All this time, I've been wondering why I didn't have an Armed Gear. I always thought it sucked to be just half a fighter all the time."_ Hibiki confessed. " _But not anymore. It's because I'm not holding any weapons that I can hold your hands like this instead. I can be friends with both of you!"_

" _Tachibana…"_ Tsubasa said, before sticking her sword into the ground and holding out her hand towards Chris.

The red wielder seemed to hesitate, her hand shaking, but then she looked at Hibiki's smiling face, and Tsubasa's genuine expression. She reached out, but when Tsubasa grasped her hand, she almost sharply recoiled. " _Is the idiocy contagious?"_

" _I guess so."_ Tsubasa admitted, causing Maia to laugh. " _And it looks like you've got it too."_

" _...you've got to be kidding."_ Chris groaned, as Hibiki and Tsubasa laughed.

"I've said it once before, Rui." Maia said, looking at her friend. "You've got one hell of a little sister."

"She's someone to look up to." Shuri said. "I'd like to be like her."

* * *

Back on the field of action, the Symphogears had made a battle plan. Chris would charge up her energy to unleash an all out attack to obliterate the Noise. During that time, Hibiki and Tsubasa would defend her until she was ready. They were working together like a well-oiled machine now.

Chris was now singing a song that sounded much more hopeful. It wasn't the heavy metal that she normally sang. Almost… like new resolve.

"It's yours!" Hibiki and Tsubasa shouted to Chris.

Chris's Symphogear armor expanded to the maximum level. With huge gatling guns and even bigger missiles. It was as if she had an entire military's worth of firepower on her back, but knowing her, there was probably even more.

**MEGA DETH QUARTET**

The four missiles fired, as did several of the shells Chris fired from her waist. The projectiles opened up to reveal they had _more_ projectiles within them, as they flew all over the air, obliterating every Noise in sight.

"She did it." Tsubasa said.

"Of course!" Chris said, prideful, as Hibiki smiled.

The girls regrouped as the last bits of Noise faded away.

"We did it!" Hibiki said, as she jumped onto Chris for another hug.

"Lay off, dumbass! What do you think you're doing!" Chris yelled, pushing Hibiki off her as the girls de-transformed.

"It's all thanks to you that we won, Chris-chan!" Hibiki said, hugging Chris, now in their civilian clothes.

"Cut it out already!" Chris said, pushing Hibiki off for the third time today while blushing. "Listen, I'm not your comrade or anything! I just want to settle things with Finé and make my new dream come true."

"Dream? You have a dream, Chris-chan?" Hibiki asked. "What is it? Tell me!"

Three times not being enough, Hibiki hugged Chris for the _fourth_ time, naturally resulting in Chris shoving her off again. "Shut the hell up, moron! You're hopeless!"

Tsubasa sighed at the situation, while Hibiki laughed, before she heard her phone ring. She picked it up and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

" _Hibiki!"_ Miku's voice said, alarm in her voice. " _It's the school! Lydian is under attack by the Noi-!"_

The line went dead.

* * *

Shuri clung onto Maia's arm again, as the area shook. "Wh-What is that?! An earthquake?!"

"No, the Noise have surrounded the school!" Sakuya said, looking at the monitors.

Sure enough, a swarm as big as the first one had surrounded the area. The military had already been deployed, but they were barely able to hold them back.

"Damn it, not good!" Maia said. "Rui! Let's go!"

"What?!" The girl looked shocked. "Are you insane?!"

"The students left outside are going to die if they don't get in soon, they need help!"

"But if we die, who's going to help them?!" Rui shot back.

"Rui-kun. Maia." Genjuro held out something. The belt-like device from earlier, as well as the cube Maia had. "Ryoko had finished building them."

"Commander, I don't know how that's going to help." Rui said.

"The weapons come with a special artificial Phonic Gain system that will protect you from the Noise." He said. "However, it has a limit to how much it can take, before running out."

"How does it get restored?" Rui asked.

"By fighting alongside a Symphogear that it's most synchronized with." Genjuro said. "Rui-kun, yours is synchronized to Hibiki-kun's Gungnir, while Maia's weapon, Takemikazuchi is synchronized to Tsubasa's Ame-no-Habakiri."

"So, we just need to make it last until the girls get back?" Maia asked.

"Correct."

"Then let's go, Rui!" Maia said, taking the cube into her hand.

Rui looked at the belt, before taking it and placing it around her waist. "Yeah. Let's do this."

The two ran off to the elevator reaching the surface. Shuri looked at the blue pen in her hand. She looked up at Genjuro. "Is this…?"

He nodded. "It's just like theirs. Your weapon is synchronized to Chris's Ichaival."

She looked at the screen, watching the Noise tear through the military like paper. "Will Rui-san and Maia-san be okay…?"

Genjuro watched the footage, as he saw Rui and Maia exit the elevator.

"I know they will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've actually had this chapter finished a while ago, but refrained from posting thanks to the issues that have been going around in the world at the moment. That and I found that having a whole stock of chapters to post on a schedule helps me a lot.  
> Aside from that, Symphogear XDU is having a collaboration with Mashin Sentai Kiramager, and that's fucking awesome.  
> With that said, I'll see you all next time.


	11. S1: Chapter 11

To say that the fight against the Noise was going poorly for the military was an understatement. While they seemingly had an endless stream of weaponry, it bounced off the Noise harmlessly. The Noise were tearing through their ranks like paper. Then again, they weren't trying to defeat the Noise, but stall them for long enough in order to help the civilians escape.

Rui and Maia were in the center of the school's courtyard, fighting the Noise. While they weren't as successful compared to the Symphogear users, they were still holding their own.

"Can I be honest?" Rui asked, kicking several Noise into nothing.

"What?" Maia asked, as Takemikazuchi split into two large broadswords that she used to cut down Noise, left and right.

"I was honestly scared at first, the idea of fighting these freaks." Rui said. "But now…"

A roundhouse kick to one Noise knocked them into several others for a massive explosion.

"...it feels like it was all a bad dream."

"Yeah? Well, don't get cocky, buddy." Maia said, slicing another Noise in half. "Kicking ass isn't our mission."

"I know, I know." Rui groaned. "But I think we made several sweeps of this area already. I think we got it covered-"

Rui stopped, as she stepped in something. Looking down, she saw that it was carbon dust. It was then that the two of them noticed that there were several piles here and there. No points in guessing what had transpired prior.

"If only we got here earlier…" Maia said sadly.

"Damn Noise…" Rui cracked her knuckles, before pressing the red button on Kagutsuchi. "You're all going down!"

* * *

In the school hallways, the girls were gathered and guarded by soldiers, as Miku tried to guide them.

"Everyone, please remain calm and evacuate to the shelter!" Miku instructed as they walked past her. "Please remain calm!"

"Hina!"

Miku turned to see her three friends, Yumi, Kuriyo and Shiori. "Girls!"

"What's going on?" Yumi asked. "How could the school be under attack? This is something that you only see in anime!"

"You three should evacuate as well." Miku suggested.

"Come with us, Kohinata-san!" Shiori said.

"You go on ahead. I need to make sure nobody's been left behind!" Miku said, determined, before running off.

"Hey, you three!" A soldier called over, running towards them. "Hurry to the shelter! It's not safe here! The Noise-!"

His last words were cut off, as a Noise tendril smashed through the window, piercing his body and carbonizing him into dust. Yumi could only scream in horror as the body collapsed.

* * *

"Hello?" Miku called, running around the school. "Is anyone still here?!"

She winced as she ground shook from the Noise outside. Looking through the crack in the wall, she saw how much destruction had occurred. "The school…! Hibiki's home…!"

Glass shattered as the several blob-like Noise broke through the window and clung to the hallway wall. Miku gasped as they shot at her, but she was knocked down just in time.

"Eh? Ogawa-san!" She said in surprise.

"That was a close one." He said. "Next time, we might not be so lucky."

Ogawa looked up as the Noise sprouted legs, before helping Miku up off of the ground.

"Run!" He said, though he didn't give her much of an option. "Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor!"

They turned a corner to the elevator to HQ, which quickly opened. The Noise pounced at them, making Miku think it was all over.

"Oreyaaaaaa!"

Miku turned and saw what appeared to be a ball of flame slam into one of the Noise, leaving a burning red footprint before it went up in ashes.

"Make way!"

Looking down the hall, she saw a blue-haired girl speeding towards them, before backflipping off of the board she was on, impaling the remaining two Noise and embedding itself into the wall.

"Man, Ryoko really gave these weapons one hell of an upgrade, eh Rui?" Maia asked, tearing the board out from the wall.

"Yeah."

Miku then realized that Rui's voice was coming from the ball of flame, which was slowly fading out to reveal the Tachibana twin.

"Um… Rui?" Miku asked.

"Yeah?"

"You're on fire."

"Huh?" Rui looked down at herself. "Oh, yeah, I am."

…

…

…

"Ow ow ow! Hot! Hot!" The girl started hitting herself to put out the flames, as Maia chuckled.

"Guess the barrier protects us, but doesn't stop that bit of discomfort." Maia deduced.

"What were you two doing?" Miku asked, as the flames on Rui burned out.

"Same thing as you." Maia said, letting the board shrink back into cube form before slipping it into her pocket. "Checking around for any survivors. We did save quite a bit of em, but…"

Rui looked away and clenched her fist. Miku realized what had happened. "As long as you tried…"

The four of them got into the elevator that led down to the base, as Ogawa pulled out his phone and started to report to Genjuro.

"Yes. Lydian continues to suffer extensive structural damage above ground." He said. "But thanks to Miku-san, Rui-san, Maia-san and the others, casualties have been minimal."

Rui slammed her fist into the elevator wall, surprising Miku. "It should have been zero casualties…"

Miku put her hands on Rui's, while Maia gave Rui a reassuring pat on the back. It did little to help her though.

"We're currently on our way to the shelter." Ogawa said.

" _Roger. Be careful."_ Genjuro said.

"More importantly, Commander." Ogawa said. "We have identified the Kadingir."

" _What?!"_

Rui, Maia and Miku looked up at that.

"Though we have no hard evidence, we have reason to believe that the Kadingir is-"

The ceiling of the elevator started to dent, as Miku screamed.

" _What's wrong?! Ogawa!"_

It all happened so fast, as a blonde-haired, armored figure broke through the ceiling, before grabbing Ogawa by the throat and pinning him against the wall.

"You-!"

Rui jumped at her, but was struck in the face by a backhand into the wall. Maia helped her stand, as the two looked at their new foe.

"I'm surprised you managed to figure it out so quickly." Finé said, with a voice that was all-too familiar. "What gave it away?"

"If you wanted to build a tower without anyone noticing, you'd have no choice but to build it underground." Ogawa choked out. "If that's what really happened, we can deduce that the elevator shaft leading to the second branch's headquarters is none other than the Kadingir itself. And the one who made all this possible is..."

"And here I thought I'd fooled you with all that leaked information." Finé said, as the elevator reached the bottom floor.

"No way…" Maia said, realizing and looking at Finé as the doors opened and Ogawa backflipped out of her grip. "She's…?"

Ogawa, mid-air, pulled out a revolver and fired three shots. All of them made their mark on the exposed flesh, before it was quickly repaired, and the bullets were pushed out onto the floor.

"Nehushtan…" Ogawa muttered, realizing where Finé's regeneration was coming from.

Finé shot out one of chain whips on her back, ensnaring Ogawa, lifting him up and causing the man to yell in pain.

"Ogawa-san!" Miku yelled.

Through tight grip, he looked at the three. "You three… get out of here!"

Surprising everyone, Miku was the first one to move as she rammed her shoulder into Finé, causing little to no damage as the woman glared at her. Turning around, she let Ogawa hit the ground, before putting a hand under Miku's chin.

"Isn't that precious? You're trying to protect the people who used you." Finé said.

"Used…?" Miku asked.

"Did you ever wonder why this facility is situated directly under Lydian?" Finé asked. "It's so that we could gather experimental data about the effects of your songs on the relics. Not to mention, that Kazanari girl was a great help in getting all of you here to begin with."

Finé chuckled as she started to walk away. Miku looked at Maia, who looked down and grit her teeth.

"Even if they have to lie, or if they can't tell the whole truth…" Miku said. "They're all out there, putting their lives on the line for others! I… I believe in them!"

"Miku…" Maia said, touched.

Almost angered, Finé slapped Miku across the face, before lifting her by her uniform and doing it again.

"Miku!" Maia shouted in concern, catching the girl as Finé let go. Maia pulled out Takemikazuchi, but hesitated. Could she really fight her? She looked at Rui, who had the same stone cold expression the whole time.

"You're pissing me off." Finé said, before walking to the vault door and pulling out an identification device to open it.

But it was shot as soon as she tried. Looking back, Ogawa was back on his feet gun smoking.

"I won't let you get any closer to the Durandal." He said, before tossing his empty gun aside and holding up his fists.

Finé's chain whips rose, and she was about to start fighting again, before they all heard a voice.

"Stop right there, Ryoko."

Smashing through the ceiling was an incredible force that kicked up dust. Finé smiled.

"Still calling me by that name?" She asked, as Genjuro rose from the dust.

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't lay a finger on a woman." Genjuro said, tightening and raising his fists. "But if you so much as _touch_ any of them, I'll tear you to pieces."

"Commander!" Ogawa said.

"About time, Uncle!" Maia yelled.

"We've known about your secret operation for some time now, thanks to the valued assistance of our American neighbors." Genjuro said. "In order to lure you out into the open, I pretended to play into your hands by getting all three Symphogear users together."

"You countered a scheme with a scheme. Not bad at all." Finé complimented. "But, do you think you can stop me?"

"Stop you?" Genjuro asked. "I'll beat every last secret out of you while barely breaking a sweat!"

"You mind if I join in, Commander?"

Genjuro saw that standing next to him was Rui. Finé laughed as she saw the girl approach. "Really? What can _you_ do?"

"I always had you pegged as a nympho when we first met." Rui said, unzipping her hoodie. "Didn't know you were a bitch too."

The girl tossed her hoodie behind her, which Ogawa caught. Rui had a black t-shirt underneath, that let her arms free.

"And honestly, I've wanted a crack at you from the start. That little bitch slap of yours only pissed me off." Rui said, rolling the cricks out of her neck. "And you set the Noise upon the school… the place Hibiki loved…"

"Rui-kun?" Genjuro asked.

"Completely unforgivable!" Rui yelled, pointing at Finé.

Finé simply chuckled. "It seems that our mutual dislike is fueling this feud. But killing you won't be that hard. I hope you don't mind."

"Go ahead and try!" Rui said, surprising almost everyone. "Cause that'll make kicking your ass all the sweeter!"

"Hm." Genjuro smiled at Rui. "Your passion burns brightly, Rui-kun."

"What can I say?" She smirked back. "I learned from the best."

Rui took up a stance next to Genjuro, ready to fight. Maia just looked in shock.

"The balls Rui's got…" She said with a sweatdrop.

"That's just the type of person Rui is." Miku said with a smile.

Genjuro and Rui rushed forward at Finé, who shot one of the whip chains at them. Genjuro dodged to the side while Rui ducked underneath it. She lashed out the other one, which Genjuro avoided by jumping and grabbing the ceiling, while Rui rolled underneath the attack. Genjuro dove down with a shout and went for a devastating blow, but Finé dodged the strike and his fist smashed into the ground. But even the shockwave from the strike caused cracks in her armor.

"What-?!" Finé looked at the damage that quickly repaired itself. She glared at Genjuro in anger, before grabbing the chains. "I'll flay you limb from limb!"

The whips would have dug into Genjuro's arms, but the man caught them, surprising Finé.

"Now, Rui!"

Finé realized that she was wide open and looked behind her, to see Rui press the yellow button on her belt.

"I appreciate the gift you gave me." Rui said, as electricity gathered around her right foot. "Fire _and_ electricity? Not too shabby."

Her look of hatred for Finé sharpened.

"Cause it's perfect for me... and perfect for sending you _straight to_ _hell!_ "

Rui delivered a devastating roundhouse kick empowered by electricity to Finé's back, launching her right at Genjuro. With a roar, the man delivered a devastating uppercut to her gut, sending her right over his head and crashing onto the ground. Finé shakily pushed herself up.

"How is it that you two can stand up to the power of a complete relic?!" She asked in anger.

"You wanna know?" Genjuro asked. "I eat, sleep, and watch movies! A true man needs nothing else!"

"As for me?" Rui said. "I just hate your guts. That's the best motivation out there."

Finé reached behind her back. "But you're just ordinary people!"

She pulled out Solomon's Cane to summon some Noise, but Genjuro stomped on the ground, launching debris into the air. "Not a chance!"

He kicked a stone at her, knocking Solmon's Cane out of her hands so hard that it embedded itself in the ceiling. Finé scowled, before she saw Genjuro right above her, ready to deliver another devastating punch.

"Compared to the Noise, this is nothing!" He declared.

"Genjuro-kun!" Finé yelled, in Ryoko's tone of voice, a look of fear on her face.

In that one moment of hesitation from Genjuro, Finé's fear turned into a twisted grin, as one of the whips pierced right through his stomach.

"Commander!" Ogawa and Rui yelled.

"Uncle!" Maia screamed.

Miku could only scream in fear and horror as Genjuro fell to the ground, and blood began to pool. Finé snagged the bloodied keycard out of his pocket.

"You can struggle, but you can't win against fate." She said.

"You fucking bitch!"

Rui pressed the red button on her belt and ran at Finé, enveloped in flames as she jumped and went for a diving kick. But she was grabbed out of the air by the chain whips on Finé's back.

"And you…" Finé glared at Rui with a look of hatred that rivalled the one she got back. "You've been a thorn in my side since the day we met."

Finé ripped off Kagutsuchi from Rui's waist, causing the flames to die down.

"Now your little defense is gone." Finé said. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Using the whips, she slammed Rui onto the ground, causing the girl to cry out. But she wasn't done. Treating Rui like a ragdoll, Finé slammed her into the floor multiple times, causing cracks to form on the hard surface.

"Stop! Stop it!" Miku yelled at Finé, tears coming out of her eyes, knowing her plea fell on deaf ears.

Beaten down and bleeding, Finé raised Rui up by her right leg until they were face-to-face. "I was going to let you go after defeating Genjuro, but you decided to try and play the hero." She rubbed a hand on Rui's bruised cheek. "I thought you were smart."

Despite her injuries, Rui smirked. "That's a compliment, coming from the prostitute." She said, before spitting blood into Finé's face. Finé didn't seem to react.

But the chains around Rui's leg did.

_**CRUNCH** _

Rui screamed in pain, as the chains tightened and crushed her lower leg, causing blood to fly.

"Rui!" Maia and Miku yelled.

Finé slammed Rui onto the ground again, planting her foot on her head.

"I'll give you one last chance." Finé said, anger having reached a breaking point. "Be silent, or I'll silence you myself."

Rui chuckled, before looking up at Finé. "Go fuck yourself."

Finally having been pushed to her absolute limits, Finé kicked Rui across the face, knocking the girl out.

"I can't even bother killing you, brat. You don't deserve that salvation." Finé said as she used a whip to retrieve Solomon's Cane from the ceiling. "But, that was cathartic to both of us. I suppose that makes us even."

Finé used the scanner to gain access to the vault door, and walked in, leaving everyone behind.

"Commander!" Ogawa said, running up to Genjuro's fallen form. "Commander!"

"Rui! Rui!" Miku yelled, kneeling down next to her friend. "Please… please wake up!"

Maia placed a shaky hand on Miku's shoulder. "C-Come on. We'll get them back to the HQ. They can get help there."

"But what if…" Miku shuddered at the thought. "If Hibiki sees Rui like this…"

Maia knew what she meant, as Miku helped Ogawa carry Genjuro while she picked up Rui. She remembered how she herself felt when Tsubasa was in critical condition. How would someone as kind hearted as Hibiki feel?

* * *

Finé stepped towards the device that contained Durandal, as a holographic screen appeared. She tapped several buttons and input several codes.

"Awaken, tower that pierces the heavens!" She chanted as Durandal began to glow. "Come to me, and extend beyond the horizon!"

* * *

The members of Sector Two were observing the destruction, before Aoi heard the door open and looked behind her, eyes wide at what she saw.

"Commander! Rui-san!" She said, as the others carried them in.

"They need immediate medical attention!" Ogawa yelled, as the two were laid down on the couches.

Medikits were delivered, as Aoi bandaged up the wound on Genjuro's stomach. Several other members of Sector Two had put Rui's leg in a splint, and wiped away most of the blood, patching up any open wounds. A non-rebreather mask was placed over her mouth, helping her breathe. Ogawa used Rui's hoodie as a makeshift blanket for the girl.

Maia sat down, breathing heavily with her face leaning on her hands. Her clothes were still stained with blood from when she helped carry Rui. There was still blood on the floor from when they had walked in, though the Sector Two members worked quickly to clean it up. Miku gave Maia a reassuring pat on the back. Shuri, who had been silent the whole time, gave Maia a hug. But neither of them were sure if the girl even noticed.

"We have an intruder!" Ogawa said, taking Aoi's place at the command chair. "The enemy is Sakurai Ryoko."

Sakuya gasped, as Aoi looked at Ogawa. "That can't be…"

Almost as if the situation couldn't get any worse, the lights in the HQ turned off, with only the emergency lights and screens providing light.

"What?!" Ogawa yelled. "What's going on?"

"Someone's hacking our system from within!" One member said.

"There's nothing we can do from here!" Said another.

The screens slowly became covered with static, as Sakuya slammed his fist against it. "This can only be Ryoko-san's doing."

Miku could only watch the static on the large screen. "Hibiki…"

* * *

Genjuro didn't know how much time had passed as he opened his eyes. Aoi, Shuri and Miku were standing around him.

"Commander!" Aoi said, as he slowly sat up.

"What's going on?" He asked, ignoring that he had been injured.

"Most of our computer systems are offline." Aoi explained. "We know nothing about the situation on the surface, nor underground."

"I see…" Genjuro said, before remembering. "What about Rui-kun?"

Aoi looked down, as Genjuro looked over her shoulder, shock going over his face as he saw the critical condition Rui was in. He tightened his fist and hit his knee. "Damn. If only I didn't let my guard down. I was a fool to let her join me..."

He shook his head.

"No. Now's not the time to reflect on my actions." Genjuro said.

"It's best if we move out of here." Ogawa said. "It's not safe."

"But what about Rui-san?" Shuri asked, looking at her friend.

"Here." Maia came into the room holding a stretcher. "You can help me carry her, right?"

Shuri nodded. "It's the least I can do for her, after she helped me."

While Ogawa helped Genjuro walk, Maia and Shuri carried Rui on the stretcher down the darkened halls of the HQ. Thankfully, Sakuya had a flashlight that made things a bit better.

"The assassination of the Defense Minister, the scheme to get hold of Durandal, and the tower of Kadingir built secretly underground…" Genjuro said as they walked. "Sakurai Ryoko has been pulling all the strings."

"We have indeed noted a number of suspicious incidents since the disappearance of Ichaival." Ogawa noted.

"But, she also spent a lot of time with us." Genjuro said. "I can't bring myself to believe that it was all a lie."

"I don't want to believe it was a lie either." Maia said. "But…"

She looked at Rui, who was shakily breathing through the mask. She wasn't in any real danger anymore, but the damage had been done.

"I know I'm being naive." Genjuro admitted. "It's my nature."

"But that's what makes you a good person." Shuri said, trying to cheer Genjuro up.

"Heehee, it's kind of like Hibiki." Miku said.

"Explains how we were in sync during training, then." Genjuro chuckled.

"The laughing is helping." Maia said. "But we are kind of in a rush-"

The ground around them began to shake again. Ogawa nearly buckled over carrying Genjuro, but Sakuya quickly supported him.

"Damn, another earthquake?" Sakuya said.

"No. I have a feeling it's much worse." Ogawa said, realizing the situation.

"Quickly, this way!" Aoi said, as she and Miku led the others, the ground crumbling behind them. Thankfully, they had managed to keep far enough from the destruction, even at their slow pace. And while the rumble was loud, they could hear singing from up above.

"I can hear Tsubasa's voice…" Maia said.

"That's… oneesama's voice too!" Shuri realized.

Rui let out a small groan of pain, but otherwise remained unconscious.

"We're here!" Aoi said, stopping by a wall.

"Um… what's "here?"" Shuri asked, as she looked behind to see the destruction slowly catch up.

"The other side of this wall is the shelter." Aoi said. "It's far more structurally sound than here."

"Normally I'd punch through the wall." Genjuro said. "But I can't right now."

Maia smiled. "Leave it to me, Uncle. Miku? Can you take over for me?"

Miku carefully took Maia's place in holding Rui's stretcher, as Maia stepped up to the wall and pulled out Takemikazuchi, which unfolded into two broadswords. Stabbing into the wall, rocket thrusters on the sides of the blades pushed it through, finishing the cut. The chunk of stone fell into the room with a boom.

"Kohinata-san!"

The smoke faded, and they saw that Yumi, Kuriyo and Shiori were inside the shelter. Yumi was practically crying as Kuriyo was comforting her.

"Thank goodness! I'm so glad you're alright!" Miku said, relieved as everyone came through the opening.

"Is that Tsubasa Kazanari?" Kuriyo asked, looking at Maia who put away Takemikazuchi. "And… ah! Tachibana-san!"

The three girls looked over the girl, who was in the stretcher. Shuri and Miku gently put her down onto one of the shelter's beds, while Fujitaka went to a terminal and pressed a few keys.

"Looks like this terminal is operational!" He said, with a small fist pump of victory.

"I'll go look around!" Ogawa said, before quickly leaving.

"Who were those people?" Kuriyo asked.

"Well… um…" Miku scratched the back of her head.

"We are the Disaster Relief Squad." Genjuro explained, as Aoi replaced his bandages for fresh ones. "We specialize in handling disasters such as these."

"So you're from the government?" Yumi asked.

"What happened to Tachibana?" Shiori asked, looking at their friend.

Miku looked down. "Rui was trying to help keep us all safe, and got hurt."

"And why does Tsubasa Kazanari have short hair?" Kuriyo asked, looking at the blue-haired girl.

"And isn't this that Chris girl from earlier?" Shiori added, looking at Shuri. "How did her hair get longer that fast?"

"Oh uh…" Maia sighed, seeing there was no point in keeping the secret at the moment. "I'm Maia Kazanari. Tsubasa's older twin. My existence was kept well under radar to prevent paparazzi and crap."

Shuri bowed. "My name is Shuri Yukine. I'm Chris Yukine's younger twin. It's… kind of the same thing for me, but different reasons."

"Two more pairs of twins?" Yumi asked, surprised.

"Yeah, we said the same thing." Maia chuckled.

"I managed to reactivate the monitor!" Sakuya called over. "We can assess the situation from here!"

The screen lit up, showing the footage above ground. It showed a shot of Hibiki and Chris.

"Hibiki!" Miku said, looking at the screen.

"And that girl named Chris from before!" Shiori added.

"Oneesama…" Shuri said softly.

The camera changed directions, showing Finé lashing her whips out at the girls.

"Is that…?" Sakuya asked.

"Ryoko?" Aoi finished.

"What's going on?" Yumi asked. "It's like we're really in an anime!"

"You knew about Bikki?" Kuriyo asked Miku.

Miku didn't say anything as she looked back at the screen.

"When you had that fight earlier…" Kuriyo realized, piecing everything together. "That was because of this as well, right?"

"I'm sorry…" Miku apologized to her friends, for having kept the secret.

* * *

Chris let out a shout as a barrage of missiles launched from her legs, all aimed at Finé.

**MEGA DETH PARTY**

Finé simply used one of the whips to cut all of them right out of the air, creating multiple explosions. Hibiki and Tsubasa jumped through the smoke, using the distraction as an advantage. Hibiki unleashed a flurry of kicks, which Finé simply dodged or blocked. But Hibiki jumped out of the way for Tsubasa, who brought her sword down on her foe. Her blade met a deadlock with Finé's whips.

The whips wrapped around her sword, causing the sentinel's expression to turn to alarm, as Finé ripped it out of her hands and threw it aside. Tsubasa backflipped out of the next few whip strikes without much effort, before spinning and extending the blades on her heels. Finé spun a whip like a helicopter blade, defending herself from Tsubasa's attack.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Hibiki yelled, delivering a diving punch from Finé's other side. The woman barely brought up her arm to block the strike, and pushed away from the two users in a powerful shockwave. She was about to keep fighting, but then saw Chris had created two large missiles.

"This is what I'm really after!" She yelled.

She fired one of them at Finé, who dodged it at first, before it honed in on her.

"Lock-on active!" Chris said. "Snipe!"

The other missile launched at the tower.

"Destroy!" Chris yelled.

"Oh no you don't!" Finé shouted as she sliced the missile in half, and frantically looked around. "Where's the other one?"

Everyone looked up to see that the missile was going skyward. And on the tip? Chris herself.

"Chris-chan!" Hibiki exclaimed.

"What is she trying to do?!" Tsubasa yelled.

Finé grit her teeth. "No matter how hard you fight, they're just toys! There's no way you can stop the Kadingir!"

The tower had nearly finished charging up since their battle had started.

" _Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal~"_

Tsubasa heard Chris's voice and realized what the girl's intent was. "That song… It can't be!"

"Her Superb Song?!" Hibiki asked.

* * *

"This is bad!" Sakuya said. "If she does it from that high up…"

"And she's already taken damage from the fight…" Aoi said.

Shuri just watched as she heard her sister's voice. "Oneesama…?"

Maia put a hand around Shuri, pulling the girl close. Rui groaned again, and slowly tossed on the bed.

* * *

Chris had nearly reached the ozone layer, as she jumped off the missile and turned towards Earth, Moon at her back.

" _Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl~"_

Chris spread her arms, as her armor created a wing-like formation.

" _Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal~"_

Several small crystals spread around her, as lasers bounced off all of them, becoming faster and faster.

" _Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl~"_

The lasers practically solidified into a crystallic wing formation, as Chris created a large hand cannon and aimed it down. Kadingir fired an astronomical blast of energy straight at the Moon. Chris returned fire with an enormous shot of her own, as the lasers that created the wings enhanced the original blast. The two beams clashed against one another, creating light comparable to a supernova. Hibiki and Tsubasa just watched the blast, despite how bright it was.

"It stopped?! She's countering it?!" Finé exclaimed.

That wasn't the full truth, as cracks started to form on the large blaster Chris had, and blood leaked from her mouth. She knew that she didn't have too much time left, but wasn't scared. Smiling, she closed her eyes, as she let positive thoughts go through her mind.

_Mama… Papa… I've always loved you. That's why I want to carry on your dream._

The cracks started to form on the rest of her armor, as Kadingir's beam slowly started to overpower her.

_I want to bring peace to the world with my song… That's the reason… for which I sing!_

The blast drew closer and closer. She thought of the many other people that had helped her.

_That idiot… Hibiki… she reached out to me… Miku… thank you for saving me… and Rui… for understanding me..._

Then she remembered the smile of the person she cherished the most in the world, as tears ran down her face.

_I'm sorry, Shuri… If only I could see you… one last time…_

The beam finally broke through, enveloping the girl completely.

From the ground Hibiki and Tsubasa watched as the beam finished firing. Waiting, hoping for a sign.

A chunk of the moon cracked off, but not all of it was destroyed.

"It wasn't enough?!" Finé screamed. "Don't tell me she was able to stop it?!"

Something started falling from the sky like a meteor. Hibiki and Tsubasa gasped, realizing who it was.

Chris was in a fast free fall, plummeting towards the forest. The girl was broken and bleeding.

Miku had her hands over her mouth, as she started to shake. _I couldn't even say goodbye to her! Why… why did it have to end like this?_

Genjuro only watched, eyes widened. _So that was your dream? You said you were still so far from achieving your dream, and yet you did so much… If that's true, then how far away must_ we _be?_

"Yukine…" Tsubasa said softly.

The destructive crash echoed throughout the destroyed school.

Hibiki could only scream in despair as she fell to her knees, but she wasn't alone.

"Oneesama!" Shuri yelled. "Oneesama! You can't… you can't be gone! Please… tell me it's going to be okay… oneesama..."

Tears ran down Shuri's cheeks as she screamed and sobbed into Maia's chest, the taller girl consoling her with a hug. Shuri's tears didn't stop, nor did her cries. And she wasn't the only one. Behind them, on the bed, a single teardrop fell from Rui's closed eyes.

_Chris..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um... Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!


	12. S1: Chapter 12

Rui was floating around in a blank void, her eyes closed.

_I can't move… everything hurts… damn it…_

" _Hey, is this where you give up?"_

Rui opened her eyes, to see a familiar white-haired girl had her back to her. A somber song slowly started to reach her ears.

" _That's not the jerk I know. Get up, this isn't you, y'know?"_

" _I…"_

" _...tell that idiot, thank you."_

" _Wait!"_

Rui reached out a hand, but as soon as she grabbed Chris's shoulder, she disappeared, fading away to nothingness. Looking at her own hands, Rui grit her teeth and clenched her fists. She could do nothing but scream.

The void started to crack.

* * *

Hibiki's hands were clawing at the ground beneath her as she cried for her fallen friend. Tsubasa stood to the side, silent, while Finé watched with a twisted sense of satisfaction.

"No way… We only just became friends…" She sobbed. "This isn't what I wanted… This can't be happening..."

Hibiki's heart began to beat. Louder than ever before.

"I wanted to spend more time talking with her! Now we can't fight, or even get closer!"

The beating grew louder, as Hibiki's tears stained the ground.

"Chris-chan…" She said. "You said you had a dream… but you never told me what it was!"

"She killed herself to protect the Moon by blocking the Kadingir's beam." Finé said coldly, before scoffing. "How worthless."

Hibiki grit her teeth. The despair was gone. All that was left was rage. Rage unlike anything she had felt before was coursing through her veins.

"To throw away your life for a mere dream… How fitting for trash like her." Finé continued.

"You dare to laugh?" Tsubasa said, voice low and full of fury. "She burned away her life to protect what she held precious!"

A red-haired user flashed through Tsubasa's mind.

"You would consider that worthless?!" Tsubasa yelled, pointing her blade at Finé.

"It's far more worthless than even that piece of trash that Tachibana calls a sister." Finé said, causing Hibiki's anger to flare.

"What…?" Hibiki said, as she gripped the ground.

"That fool thought she was strong enough to defeat me." Finé chuckled. "So I beat her within an inch of her life. It was cathartic for the both of us."

"Why?!" Tsubasa yelled. "Rui Tachibana was innocent in all of this, and yet you nearly killed her over a childish grudge?!"

"She was nothing more than a worm underneath my foot." Finé said. "She should be thankful I spared her.

" _You…"_

Tsubasa's anger turned into shock. That voice was Hibiki's… yet at the same time, it wasn't her.

" _Don't you dare talk shit about Chris-chan sacrifice!"_ Hibiki screamed in a voice that was metallic and raspy. The ground around her began to shake as she became all black, and her eyes turned red. A wicked grin made its way onto Finé's face.

" _And you hurt oneesan… I'LL KILL YOU!"_

* * *

Everyone only watched in shock as they looked at Hibiki's new, fearsome form.

"Hibiki…" Miku said.

"Is that really Bikki?" Kuriyo asked, disturbed at what she was seeing.

"Holy hell…" Maia said, stunned while still comforting Shuri.

Rui gently opened her eyes. Hearing her sister's voice, she slowly turned her head to see the screen.

* * *

Hibiki's growls of rage slowly grew louder and louder.

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa called. "Oy, Tachibana!"

"The fragments of Gungnir that merged with her are going berserk, causing her consciousness to be overrun by power she cannot control." Finé explained.

Tsubasa remembered the words Ryoko had said about the Gungnir shards, realizing what Finé was talking about.

"Don't tell me… you were experimenting on Tachibana?"

"Yes. And not just on Tachibana." Finé said, as Hibiki growled like an uncaged animal. "Won't you bear witness as she succumbs to the power of Gungnir, and throws away all of her remaining humanity?"

"Is this why you did all that to Tachibana… and to Kanade?!" Tsubasa yelled.

With a burst of power, Hibiki launched herself at Finé with a roar.

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa yelled out in concern.

Hibiki flipped multiple times before bringing her fists down on Finé, but it was blocked by the whips of the Nehushtan Armor. The resulting clash created a huge shockwave that tore up the ground. Hibiki tried to go for another punch, but Finé whipped her away.

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa yelled, as Hibiki crashed into the ground.

"She's no longer human." Finé said. "Now, she is rage incarnate."

Hibiki roared and jumped at Finé again, who created a hexagonal barrier with the whips.

**ASGARD**

Hibiki slammed her heel into the barrier, which let out sparks. It hardly bothered her, as the barrier began to crack. Yet Finé smiled, as Hibiki broke through and slammed right into her, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. Tsubasa raised an arm to block some of the debris. When it faded, she saw that Finé had been torn through from the shoulder down, but the woman didn't seem too fazed about it. Rather, she looked like she was unbelievably enthusiastic.

"Stop it, Tachibana!" Tsubasa yelled. "You're only going to accelerate the rate of fusion!"

Hibiki slowly turned to Tsubasa, before letting out a demonic screech and charging at her friend. Gritting her teeth, Tsubasa managed to elbow Hibiki away thanks to her being wide open and untactical, but it did nothing to quench Hibiki's rage.

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa shouted, as her friend continued to attack.

* * *

"What's wrong, Hibiki?" Miku could only say as she watched the screen. "Come to your senses!"

"It's over… We're done for..." Yumi muttered, as everyone looked at her. "The school is in ruins and Hibiki's gone crazy…"

"It's not over!" Miku said. "Hibiki is protecting-!"

"Does that _thing_ look like it's protecting anything?!" Yumi demanded, tears flowing as Hibiki's growl came from the monitor.

"I believe in Hibiki." Miku said, seriously.

"I want to as well…" Yumi said through her tears. "I want to believe everything will be all right… But… But..."

Yumi fell to her knees, shaking in fear.

"Itaba-san…" Shiori said, softly.

"I can't take this anymore!" Yumi screamed. "Someone do something! I'm scared! I don't want to die!"

She clutched her head and shrieked. "Help us, Hibiki!"

"Stop crying."

Yumi looked up, hearing a voice that was very similar to her friend. "Hibiki?"

"Just grow a damn pair already."

They soon realized who was talking, as they turned to the bed to see that Rui had woken up.

"Rui!" Maia said, going over to her friend's side. "You alright?"

"Gee, I got slammed around through concrete and metal, I got kicked in the face, and I'm pretty sure my leg is broken thanks to the nympho." She snarked, pulling the breathing mask off her face. "What do you think?"

Shuri couldn't smile, but let out a sigh of relief. "At least Rui-san is the same."

"How did you wake up so quickly?" Maia asked. "We thought you'd be out for longer…"

"I heard it." Rui said, shakily sitting up. "I heard Chris's voice."

"You… heard oneesama?" Shuri asked.

Rui nodded. "I don't know how to say it exactly, but it's almost as if your sister saved me."

Shuri still looked sad, but Rui took her hand.

"I know it's probably worth nothing coming from me." Rui said. "But things are going to turn out alright."

Shuri shakily smiled at the words, but Yumi stood up, almost angered.

"What makes you say that?" Yumi demanded. "Have you seen the thing Hibiki has turned into?!"

"I have." Rui said. "But that's still Hibiki. She's just angry."

"What are you even talking about-?!"

Yumi received one of Rui's famous death glares, shutting her up.

"Because I know my sister." Rui said, looking at the screen. "She's been through a lot of crap in her life."

Everyone looked confused, while Miku was the only one who knew what Rui was talking about.

"My sister's going to come back." Rui said, confidently. "Even if someone has to reach out towards _her_."

* * *

Tsubasa was sent skidding back, as the armor on her shoulder cracked and shattered. Breathing heavily, she kept an eye on Hibiki, who was no worse for wear since Tsubasa remained purely on the defensive.

"Heheheh. What do you think?" Finé laughed, as the tear slowly started to heal itself, pulling her back together. "How does it feel to fight Tachibana Hibiki? It's just what you wanted, isn't it?"

Tsubasa just watched as Finé finished healing back into peak condition. "You're no longer human, either…"

"I have become one with the Nehushtan's regenerative abilities." Finé said, flexing her wrist. "Isn't it fascinating?"

The loud sound of energy charging started up, as Tsubasa looked behind her at the Kadingir, which was readying itself for another blast. "Impossible…"

"Don't look so surprised. The Kadingir is the ultimate weapon, after all." Finé said. "Did you really expect it to be exhausted after just one shot? I can fire it as many times as need be. The invincible sword, Durandal, serves as its energy source in the reactor core! An immortal heart that will never stop beating."

Finé chuckled at her own master plan. It was perfect.

"One flaw." Tsubasa said, aiming her sword at Finé. "If I strike you down here, there won't be anyone to operate the Kadingir."

Seemingly deaf, lost in her own rage and monstrosity, Hibiki slowly walked towards Tsubasa.

"Tachibana…"

Tsubasa closed her eyes, as the sounds of Kadingir faded away, and Finé's presence was gone. Concentrating, the only thing Tsubasa saw was Hibiki.

"Tachibana. I'll stop the Kadingir." She said. "So…"

Hibiki roared and ran at Tsubasa with a claw raised. Tsubasa gripped her sword… before stabbing it into the ground. This got Finé's attention, as Tsubasa stood, not even defending herself.

Armor shattered and blood gushed out as Hibiki impaled Tsubasa with her arm. But Tsubasa didn't even flinch, as she wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling her into a hug.

Everyone watching from the shelter didn't say anything as they watched the scene unfold. Maia had frozen completely, as Shuri squeezed her hand. Rui's eyes widened.

_Tsubasa… you..._

Despite having lost herself, Hibiki didn't move at all, as Tsubasa grabbed her hand and pulled it out of her chest.

"Your power is one that's meant to bring people together." Tsubasa said, before throwing a knife into Hibiki's shadow, weaving it in place and halting her movements.

Tsubasa walked past the girl, speaking again. "Tachibana… Kanade entrusted you with that power. Please don't use it this way."

Tears began to leak out of Hibiki's eyes. Whether it was from the despair or the pain, no one would know.

But Tsubasa didn't have time to guess, as she walked towards Finé, sword ready. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"A sword to the end, hm?" Finé asked.

"Today, it shall end." Tsubasa agreed. "So that tomorrow, I can live on as a human. I'll show the world that Tsubasa Kazanari can sing elsewhere than the battlefield!"

"The world of humans will never accept a sword!" Finé shot, lashing her whips at Tsubasa. The girl jumped into the air to avoid them.

"Then I'll start by taking inspiration from a friend of mine." Tsubasa said. "By sending you straight to hell itself!"

Rui smirked as she watched the girl fight. "Kick her ass, Tsubasa."

Tsubasa began to sing, dodging and deflecting the whips, before creating an enormous sword and shooting out a slash of energy.

**Blue Flash**

Yet, Finé's whips managed to block the attack, dispersing it with ease. They lashed out at Tsubasa, but the girl ducked underneath them and rushed at Finé, slashing upwards and delivering a devastating blow, launching her right into Kadingir's wall. Not letting up, Tsubasa flipped into the air and threw her blade, where it increased in size as she boosted it with a kick.

**Heaven's Wrath**

Finé created a barrier, but the enormous sword failed to pierce it. But Tsubasa used the blade as a makeshift pole vault, launching her at Kadingir as she spread her arms with dual blades. The swords caught aflame, as did the blades on her heels, sending her flying up like a majestic creature.

**Soaring Phoenix's Slash**

"So Kadingir was your target from the start?!" Finé yelled, lashing her whips at Tsubasa.

She briefly glanced back and flew to the side to avoid them, but her speed was not enough, as they both struck her, dealing critical blows. The flames burnt out, and Tsubasa started to fall.

_Damn it… In the end, I wasn't..._

_What's gotten you so discouraged?_ A familiar voice rang out.

Tsubasa saw a familiar red-head, one who was close to her. _Kanade?_

 _Tsubasa…_ Kanade took her hand. _You and I, Zwei Wing… Together, we can fly to the ends of the Earth._

As Tsubasa fell, she knew what she must do. _Yes… Zwei Wing, together as one._

She swung out her blades, as they ignited once more to Finé's shock. Tsubasa kicked off of Kadingir's support beam, and soared to the sky.

_We can overcome anything!_

Finé lashed out her whips again, but it was useless, as Tsubasa flew right through them, her flames having turned blue.

"TACHIBANAAAAA!" Tsubasa yelled, soaring as a blue phoenix, before smashing right through the side of Kadingir. Beams of light shone through large openings throughout the tower, as it exploded from the top down. Finé screamed as the light of the explosion blinded everyone within the blast radius.

Tsubasa, weakened, found herself in the epicenter of the destruction. She wondered if this truly was the end for her, as the white hell took her over.

But she smiled. She had succeeded. Though there was only one regret in her life.

 _Forgive me, neesama…_ Tsubasa apologized, as she closed her eyes and remembered her playful and doting sister. _But I suppose this is my end… I… love… you…_

The tower's explosions subsided, revealing that Tsubasa's attack had blown away half of the tower.

"Once again… my wish has been denied?!" Finé yelled.

The dagger that had kept Hibiki in place turned to dust. Not that it was even needed, as Hibiki had turned back into her normal self. The tears were still on her face, as she stared at Kadingir's remains.

"Tsubasa-san…" She choked out, falling to her knees.

* * *

"We're no longer detecting… any traces of Ame-no-Habakiri." Sakuya said, gripping the keyboard tightly. Aoi turned away to cry, while Genjuro clenched his fists.

"So you sacrificed yourself to destroy the Kadingir, Tsubasa?" Genjuro asked. "Your songs really have reached the world."

Maia was oddly quiet as she sat down on Rui's bunk, her eyes shadowed by her hair.

"Maia-san?" Shuri asked, after wiping her own tears.

"Tsubasa told me." Maia said, shakily. "That if this were to ever happen, I shouldn't cry."

Rui put a hand on her friend's back, trying to comfort her.

"This was the path that she had chosen." Maia said, keeping her voice as steady as she could. "She always told me…"

Shuri hugged Maia's head, surprising the girl.

"You can cry on me, Maia-san." Shuri said. "You let me do the same for my sister. It's only fair I do the same for you."

Finally letting the tears leak out, Maia sobbed into Shuri's chest, while being comforted by her two friends.

Yumi, crying out of fear and sadness, spoke up. "I don't get it! Why do you all fight?! You're always in pain… Always suffering! Do you fight because you don't want to live?"

"You don't get it?" Miku asked, almost angrily.

"Are you really this fucking dense?" Rui asked in a low voice.

Miku grabbed Yumi by the shoulders, their tearful eyes staring at one another. "Do you really not get it?" She repeated.

"You watch anime religiously." Rui said. "If none of that's taught you anything, you're hopeless."

Yumi could only scream and cry.

* * *

Finé let out a shout of anger as she slammed one of her whips into the ground.

"This is unbelievable!" She roared. "Had I destroyed the Moon, the Curse of Balal would have been released, causing a gravitational disturbance at the same time. People all over the world would fall into disarray as natural disasters shook the planet."

She turned and approached Hibiki, who was still mourning.

"They would panic, and come to me for protection, because I possess the unrivaled power of a relic! Pain is the only bond that can connect people! That is the one inviolate truth! And you… You stood in my way!"

She kicked Hibiki in the chest, causing the girl to roll into her front. But Hibiki didn't even have the will to defend herself. Finé grabbed her by the hair.

"But I guess you were pretty useful after all." She said, lifting Hibiki up. "The first known fusion of a relic with a living organism… I was able to fuse myself with the Nehushtan armor thanks to your example."

With a shout, she threw Hibiki forward, causing the girl to painfully crash into the ground. But Hibiki didn't get up. What was the point?

"Tsubasa-san… Chris-chan… They're both gone… And the school's in ruins… They're all gone… Oneesan… I don't know if she's okay… Why… Why am I doing all this? What am I fighting for?" She asked herself. "Everyone…"

* * *

"Commander!" Ogawa said, returning with several civilians. "I found these survivors while checking nearby shelters in the area."

"Really? That's a relief." Genjuro said.

A little girl's face lit up. "Mommy! It's the cool girl!" She said, pointing at the screen.

"Hold on a moment!" Her mother said, as the girl walked up next to Sakuya and looked at Hibiki on the screen.

"Wait… that girl seems familiar…" Rui said. "Where did I…?"

"Sorry about this." The mother apologized.

"You know Bikki?" Kuriyo asked.

The mother thought for a second, before responding. "I can't tell you the details, but she saved my daughter's life."

Rui realized what she was talking about. She remembered that day. How could she forget?

"She put her own life at risk to keep my daughter safe." The mother continued. "I know she's saved many people that way."

"Hibiki… saved her life?" Yumi asked.

"Hey, can't we do anything to help her?" The little girl asked.

"That's easy to say." Shiori said. "But, from here, there's not much we can do."

"Then let's cheer for her together!" The little girl said, before turning to Sakuya. "Hey, can we talk to her from here?"

"Well, not really…" Sakuya said.

The proposal the girl had sparked an idea for Miku. "Cheer for her…" She looked at Genjuro. "Is there any way we can tell Hibiki that we're alright? I want to help her!"

"Help her?" Genjuro repeated.

"If we can get the school's computer systems working again, we can send your voice over the network." Sakuya said, as a look of determination appeared on Miku's face.

* * *

"Since ancient times, I have served him as his priestess." Finé said, staring up at the moon. "Then one day, I fell in love with him… with the Creator. But, I couldn't reach him with my heart. The very words I wished to speak were stolen from me… no, from humankind."

Hibiki said nothing, as Finé continued.

"The Curse of Balal robbed us of the common tongue that was our one menas of communication with the Creator. I have worked for millenia to release that curse, so that one day I could once again use that common tongue to tell him of my feelings."

"Your feelings…" Hibiki said.

"You're questioning my motivations?!" Finé yelled, turning around in anger. "You don't even know how it feels to be in love!"

Hibiki felt the grip on her hair tighten, as Finé threw her once more.

* * *

Miku had gone with Ogawa and the others to restore the power. Rui watched as Finé continued to beat her sister, before she couldn't take anymore.

"I'm going." She said.

Genjuro looked at Rui. "Rui-kun? You can't-"

"I'm going, Commander." She said, throwing her hoodie over her shoulders. "I'm not going to let my sister get killed by that bitch."

Rui tried standing up, but her legs practically failed her as she fell forward. Thankfully, Maia had caught her.

"Rui…" Maia said softly. "You can't go-"

"My sister fucking needs me, Maia." Rui said. "I'm going there, with or without help."

She picked up Kagutsuchi and tried to put it on her waist, but her shaking hands refused to cooperate.

Maia sighed. "Even after almost dying, you're still this stubborn."

"You know me... partner." Rui said with a smirk.

Maia smiled at that, before turning to Genjuro. "Uncle, I'll go with her. It's not like me to sit around and cry, after all."

Genjuro frowned. "But still…"

"I'll go as well."

Shuri was the one that had spoken up, surprising the others. Her soft expression was gone. Now, a determined look on her face that was comparable to her sister. She gripped a familiar light blue pen in her hand.

"I'm done with crying. I want to make oneesama proud."

Genjuro was about to object, but heard Hibiki get slammed into the ground once more. "Very well. But if things get ugly out there, I want you all to get away as fast as you can."

They all promised, as Maia helped Rui walk. The three of them made their way to the exit of the shelter, which was locked shut.

"Is there a code or something?" Rui asked.

"Nope." Maia pulled out Takemikazuchi once more, as it unfolded into the twin broadswords. Leaving one on the floor, she stabbed it into the steel door, cutting through it with the rocket boosters supporting the cut. Finally, a hole large enough for them was created, as the door chunk fell inwards. Light shone through the opening, as they all briefly shared a look of agreement.

"Let's go." Rui said.

* * *

"The greatest flaw of the Symphogear system is the damage that the Superb Songs cause to their own user." Finé said. "As a researcher, I'd be fascinated to find out how much a fused creature like yourself might be able to withstand that damage."

Hibiki was responseless, as she lay on the ground.

"But I don't need to experiment on you anymore." Finé said, approaching Hibiki with the whip chains aimed at her. "Now that I too have become fused with a relic, I think that the world only needs one such demigod to be its ruler."

She had a sadistic smile on her face.

"I'll eliminate anyone who can stand up to me." Finé stated. "But perhaps, I'll torture you a little, just like I did to your sister."

"Well, you did one shitty job of that."

Finé grit her teeth, recognizing the voice. She turned around to see that, standing a few feet away, was Rui. Maia was supporting her, as the two stared her down.

"You just keep crawling back…" Finé said, annoyed.

"Sorry to disappoint." Rui said, shakily flipping the bird at Finé.

"Oneesan…" Hibiki said, seeing her sister.

"Hibiki, you're not gonna let this bitch keep prattling on and on, are you?" Rui asked.

"But… there's nothing left…" She said.

"You're wrong there, Hibiki." Maia said. "There are always things to protect."

"Silence!" Finé shouted, turning her whips to the two. "You're both making things far more irritating than they should be."

"Mission accomplished, asshole." Rui said, with a smirk.

Finé aimed her hands at the two, before she saw something from the corner of her eye.

**BANG**

The bullet embedded itself into her hand, but it hardly bothered her. She looked at where it had come from.

Shuri stood on top of some debris, holding a large sniper rifle that was icy-blue. She had finally used Okami.

Finé simply laughed. "So, you would defy me as well, Shuri? And with such a pathetic attempt-?"

"Freeze." Shuri said, her eyes becoming cold.

The bullet in Finé's hand expanded as the temperature dramatically dropped around it. Within mere seconds, Finé's hand was encased in a chunk of ice, along with part of the chain whips.

"What?!"

"Cryokinetic bullets." Maia said with a grin as Shuri joined the two. "You should know all about it, since you made it for her."

"That one was for oneesama." Shuri said, as the Okami retracted back into a pen.

"You animals…" Finé said. "You would go so far for someone that isn't human anymore?!"

"Do you think that fucking matters?!" Rui yelled at her. "Hibiki's my sister! No matter what happens, that's _never_ going to change! Someone like you can't understand what it's like to have a sister!"

Finé gnashed her teeth in rage, while Hibiki slowly smiled. "Oneesan…"

"Hibiki, there are still things left to protect." Maia said, holding up a fist.

"We're still here, Hibiki-san." Shuri said with a smile. "We all are."

A song sung by many began to resonate throughout the ruined school. Finé broke free from the ice and looked around. "Ugh, that sound… What is that annoying noise? What could it be?"

"You really don't know even though you've been to the school countless times?" Rui asked. "God you're an idiot."

Hibiki recognized it as it continued. It was the school's anthem.

"Looks like Miku and the others pulled through." Maia said, with a small fist pump.

Down in the shelter, Miku and the other school survivors continued to sing, not even faltering once.

 _Hibiki, we're all right!_ Miku thought as she sang. _We're all waiting for you to come back to us! So don't lose!_

"If only I could stop that irritating song." Finé muttered. "Wait, a song?!"

"I can hear them…" Hibiki said. "I can hear your voices… They're always right by my side, singing for me… So..."

Hibiki tightened her fist. Her resolve renewed.

"I can sing on too. I can keep going… I can fight!"

A huge burst of energy from her knocked Finé away. Rui held her arm up to shield her face, but smiled.

"You can still fight? From where do you draw the strength to stand? What do you hold onto that gives you the power to fight? Is it that unsettling song?" Finé asked in indignation. "That's right… What is this armor in which you are clad? Your heart was broken already… Then… Then what could you be using? Something I created? What are you using?! What?!"

Aura surrounded Hibiki, as she stood up. Three pillars of light shone. One from Hibiki. Another from within the forest, and another from the remains of Kadingir.

"No way…" Maia said, looking up at the tower.

"Could it be…?" Shuri said hopefully, looking in the forest.

The pillars of light collapsed down onto the three spots. Hibiki, took to the skies in a new, almost angelic, form. Along with her, in similar armor, were two souls that were thought to have gone.

"Tsubasa!" Maia shouted in relief.

"Oneesama!" Shuri shouted in happiness.

In her shock, Maia let go of Rui. But to Rui's surprise, her leg didn't hurt anymore. Looking at the scratches on her arms and hands, she saw that they were disappearing.

"Whoa…"

"Impossible!" Finé yelled. "What is this power?!"

Hibiki spread her wings and tightened her fists, before screaming the answer at the top of her lungs.

" **SYMPHOGEAR!"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're in the endgame now, folks. The Season 1 finale is on the horizon. See you all then.


End file.
